Pubdate: Fri, 20 May 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321

FACING UP TO REALITY OF POT

Prohibition has proved that making something illegal doesn't end 
demand for it. Be it alcohol or marijuana, until legally permissible 
options are made available to users, they will find other ways to 
obtain what they seek.

Yet, nearly 20 years after California voters approved Proposition 
215, which legalized the use of marijuana for medical treatment, 
efforts continue to limit access to medical marijuana, seemingly out 
of moralistic disdain for marijuana rather than an actual concern for 
public safety.

Still, some cities seem to be changing their tune. Placentia is the 
latest. There, the City Council moved forward on Tuesday with a law 
that "calls for one dispensary, one cultivation site, one 
manufacturing site, one testing lab, one service for transportation 
between locations and one delivery service," according to the Register.

Also contained in the 41-page ordinance are a number of other rules, 
such as requiring that the dispensary be near Placentia-Linda 
Hospital and "be at least 600 feet away from any school, church, 
park, large daycare, library or drug or alcohol rehabilitation 
center" as well as require "background checks on employees, 
surveillance cameras at marijuana businesses and odor control," the 
Register reported.

While we are concerned about potential for monopoly under that 
system, and the more onerous the rules, the pricier the product and 
the more likely the black market is to continue, the proposed law, 
which must come back to the council for a second vote in two weeks, 
is a positive step forward.

That's because more than 600,000 signatures were submitted earlier 
this month to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the 
statewide November ballot, 200,000 more than necessary. Now is the 
time to carefully craft policies that allow access while maintaining 
the character of our communities. Placentia's City Council seems to 
understand that.

"I think it's going to help Placentia avoid a crisis when Sacramento 
does whatever they are going to do," Councilman Craig Green told the 
Register. "I think it's a good thing to keep ahead of the curve."

Procrastination won't help once statewide legalization occurs. Other 
cities in Orange County should take note.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom