Jacob Bell
New Member
The Benicia City Council voted Tuesday to reject a unanimous recommendation from its own Planning Commission and reimpose a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the historic Solano County community.
After a long hearing in which several medical marijuana advocates expressed support for moving forward with an investigation into the feasibility of authorizing such facilities, as the Planning Commission had recommended, and three of the five councilmembers seemed swayed, the panel instead voted unanimously to ban impose a permanent ban when a temporary one expires next month.
City Manager Brad Kilger told the council that they and city staff had too much to do in dealing with an evolving budget crisis to devote sufficient time to investigating and drafting a new ordinance to regulate dispensaries, but said panel members needed to do something before the temporary ban expired and facilities would be able to open unregulated.
"I'm very concerned that if you don't enact the ban you're going to get something you don't want," he said. "You've got to give it the time to get it done right."
Possession of marijuana for medical reasons was legalized by state voters in 1996, and regulated dispensaries are operating in many Bay Area cities, including San Francisco and Oakland.
Unregulated dispensaries are said to be open in at least two Solano County cities, including nearby Vallejo.
The marijuana dispensary idea was referred for further study, perhaps later this year.
But the issue made for lively public discussion at Tuesday's council meeting at Benicia City Hall.
A 66-year-old Benicia woman with polio who said she had been confined to a wheelchair before getting a doctor's recommendation to begin using medical marijuana told the council, "I thought it was important that you see a medical marijuana user."
A former mayor of Sebastopol, Craig Litwin, told the council that the medical marijuana ordinance passed by his Sonoma County city was a great success.
"We've had zero incidents in Sebastopol and we receive 1 percent of the gross sales," he said. "I believe regulaton is far superior to turning a blind eye."
But former Police Chief Jim Trimble warned of the high costs to the city of effectively monitoring the dispensaries.
Mayor Elizabeth Patterson tried to get the panel to agree to create a stakeholders group to hold public meetings and work with city staff to develop an ordinance, but her proposal attracted little support.
The council's next meeting is Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at Benicia City Hall at 250 East L St.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: examiner.com
Author: Nathan Salant
Contact: Contact
Copyright: Clarity Digital Group LLC
Website: Benicia City Council snuffs out marijuana dispensary idea
After a long hearing in which several medical marijuana advocates expressed support for moving forward with an investigation into the feasibility of authorizing such facilities, as the Planning Commission had recommended, and three of the five councilmembers seemed swayed, the panel instead voted unanimously to ban impose a permanent ban when a temporary one expires next month.
City Manager Brad Kilger told the council that they and city staff had too much to do in dealing with an evolving budget crisis to devote sufficient time to investigating and drafting a new ordinance to regulate dispensaries, but said panel members needed to do something before the temporary ban expired and facilities would be able to open unregulated.
"I'm very concerned that if you don't enact the ban you're going to get something you don't want," he said. "You've got to give it the time to get it done right."
Possession of marijuana for medical reasons was legalized by state voters in 1996, and regulated dispensaries are operating in many Bay Area cities, including San Francisco and Oakland.
Unregulated dispensaries are said to be open in at least two Solano County cities, including nearby Vallejo.
The marijuana dispensary idea was referred for further study, perhaps later this year.
But the issue made for lively public discussion at Tuesday's council meeting at Benicia City Hall.
A 66-year-old Benicia woman with polio who said she had been confined to a wheelchair before getting a doctor's recommendation to begin using medical marijuana told the council, "I thought it was important that you see a medical marijuana user."
A former mayor of Sebastopol, Craig Litwin, told the council that the medical marijuana ordinance passed by his Sonoma County city was a great success.
"We've had zero incidents in Sebastopol and we receive 1 percent of the gross sales," he said. "I believe regulaton is far superior to turning a blind eye."
But former Police Chief Jim Trimble warned of the high costs to the city of effectively monitoring the dispensaries.
Mayor Elizabeth Patterson tried to get the panel to agree to create a stakeholders group to hold public meetings and work with city staff to develop an ordinance, but her proposal attracted little support.
The council's next meeting is Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at Benicia City Hall at 250 East L St.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: examiner.com
Author: Nathan Salant
Contact: Contact
Copyright: Clarity Digital Group LLC
Website: Benicia City Council snuffs out marijuana dispensary idea
