Robert Celt
New Member
A group of medical marijuana advocates is fighting the city's new ban on personal cultivation of the plant.
A divided Simi Valley City Council finalized an ordinance last week banning both commercial and personal cultivation of marijuana for medical uses. The ordinance also prohibits the dispensing and delivery of the drug within city limits.
But Simi Valley resident John Kiedaisch began the referendum process March 17 when he obtained petition forms from the city, said Ky Spangler, city clerk. A referendum is a citizens' petition requesting reconsideration or repeal of an ordinance.
On March 18, Kiedaisch began collecting signatures on the petition, which seeks to repeal the entire ban, including the prohibition of personal and commercial grows, deliveries and dispensaries.
"Keep in mind that under California law, there is an automatic ban for any city that doesn't want to have (commercial uses) because nobody will be able to obtain a commercial license from the state unless they first get local approval," Kiedaisch said. "Really, the entire ordinance is unnecessary and the only thing it effectively bans is personal cultivation and deliveries, which aren't covered by state law."
The group has 30 days to collect at least 6,400 signatures, or 10 percent of Simi voters, and return the completed form to the city clerk, who will then send it to the county for validation. Kiedaisch said he plans to gather more than 8,000 names in case some signatures are invalid.
Should the petition be successful, the recently approved ban will be suspended immediately and the City Council will vote on whether to repeal the ordinance, Kiedaisch said. If they choose not to repeal the ban, the people will make the final decision on the ballot, possibly in November or in a special election.
Council response
Since discussions of local medical marijuana regulations first came before the council in January, Councilmember Mike Judge has supported personal cultivation.
However, he is opposed to dispensaries, deliveries and commercial cultivation, he said.
"If (supporters) can get the signatures they need, then more power to them," Judge said. "If this (petition) is the only way for them to address this kind of grievance, that sounds like a good course of action.
"Until the federal government gets squared away on how they're going to treat this kind of product, home cultivation is a no-brainer," he continued. "If the state says you can grow it and we're saying you can't, that's like telling people you can't grow tomatoes. It doesn't make sense."
Councilmember Keith Mashburn, who voted in favor of the ban, said he will not stand in the way of the petition, but he believes the city is in line with the law. If the decision is overruled, the council member said he would obey the law, regardless of whether he likes it.
"I do believe in the medical benefits . . . but I don't think everyone growing it in their backyard is going to help," Mashburn said, adding that he's troubled by how easy it is for people to obtain a doctor's prescription.
"I was very cautious to make sure we weren't taking the right of any medical users away . . . but there's a tremendous amount of regulation that would have to come with allowing everybody to grow it," he said. "I feel it's a much more sound decision to ban (personal cultivation) than to have this extremely heavily regulated ordinance that would allow people to grow it at home." Kiedaisch said the council's decision was "befuddling."
"It's absolutely beyond belief that people are speaking out and their cries are falling on deaf ears . . . and (the council) is turning a blind eye to what the people really want," he said. "Our hope is the ordinance will be repealed because it infringes directly on patients' rights under state law."
For more information on the petition, visit simialliance.com.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: CA: Medical Marijuana Advocates Fight Back
Author: Melissa Simon
Photo Credit: Seth Perlman
Website: Simi Valley Acorn
A divided Simi Valley City Council finalized an ordinance last week banning both commercial and personal cultivation of marijuana for medical uses. The ordinance also prohibits the dispensing and delivery of the drug within city limits.
But Simi Valley resident John Kiedaisch began the referendum process March 17 when he obtained petition forms from the city, said Ky Spangler, city clerk. A referendum is a citizens' petition requesting reconsideration or repeal of an ordinance.
On March 18, Kiedaisch began collecting signatures on the petition, which seeks to repeal the entire ban, including the prohibition of personal and commercial grows, deliveries and dispensaries.
"Keep in mind that under California law, there is an automatic ban for any city that doesn't want to have (commercial uses) because nobody will be able to obtain a commercial license from the state unless they first get local approval," Kiedaisch said. "Really, the entire ordinance is unnecessary and the only thing it effectively bans is personal cultivation and deliveries, which aren't covered by state law."
The group has 30 days to collect at least 6,400 signatures, or 10 percent of Simi voters, and return the completed form to the city clerk, who will then send it to the county for validation. Kiedaisch said he plans to gather more than 8,000 names in case some signatures are invalid.
Should the petition be successful, the recently approved ban will be suspended immediately and the City Council will vote on whether to repeal the ordinance, Kiedaisch said. If they choose not to repeal the ban, the people will make the final decision on the ballot, possibly in November or in a special election.
Council response
Since discussions of local medical marijuana regulations first came before the council in January, Councilmember Mike Judge has supported personal cultivation.
However, he is opposed to dispensaries, deliveries and commercial cultivation, he said.
"If (supporters) can get the signatures they need, then more power to them," Judge said. "If this (petition) is the only way for them to address this kind of grievance, that sounds like a good course of action.
"Until the federal government gets squared away on how they're going to treat this kind of product, home cultivation is a no-brainer," he continued. "If the state says you can grow it and we're saying you can't, that's like telling people you can't grow tomatoes. It doesn't make sense."
Councilmember Keith Mashburn, who voted in favor of the ban, said he will not stand in the way of the petition, but he believes the city is in line with the law. If the decision is overruled, the council member said he would obey the law, regardless of whether he likes it.
"I do believe in the medical benefits . . . but I don't think everyone growing it in their backyard is going to help," Mashburn said, adding that he's troubled by how easy it is for people to obtain a doctor's prescription.
"I was very cautious to make sure we weren't taking the right of any medical users away . . . but there's a tremendous amount of regulation that would have to come with allowing everybody to grow it," he said. "I feel it's a much more sound decision to ban (personal cultivation) than to have this extremely heavily regulated ordinance that would allow people to grow it at home." Kiedaisch said the council's decision was "befuddling."
"It's absolutely beyond belief that people are speaking out and their cries are falling on deaf ears . . . and (the council) is turning a blind eye to what the people really want," he said. "Our hope is the ordinance will be repealed because it infringes directly on patients' rights under state law."
For more information on the petition, visit simialliance.com.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: CA: Medical Marijuana Advocates Fight Back
Author: Melissa Simon
Photo Credit: Seth Perlman
Website: Simi Valley Acorn
