The city is taking the wrong stance on medical marijuana
dispensaries. Instead of banning them, which the Planning
Commission has recommended, the City Council should look at this as
an opportunity, not a problem.
The city is taking the wrong stance on medical marijuana dispensaries. Instead of banning them, which the Planning Commission has recommended, the City Council should look at this as an opportunity, not a problem.
City staff, commissioners and members of the public suggested at a recent Planning Commission meeting that while the Compassionate Use Act, passed by voters 1996, approved the use of medical marijuana for residents with qualifying illnesses, some storefront dispensary operators have taken advantage of the law.
As a result, opponents of marijuana and dispensaries say the facilities have brought more serious crime, such as armed robberies, to communities. We understand the potential for abuses. That’s the problem. It’s time to search for answers other than an outright ban.
The abuses can be flagrant, but the city needs to tightly regulate – not ban – the businesses. Get ahead of the curve. Don’t do what San Jose and Gilroy did. San Jose didn’t do enough and more than 100 clubs opened and now that city is trying to reduce the number to 10 and stringently regulate them. Gilroy has spent more than $250,000 fighting MediLeaf, which opened without a business license, and remains closed to this day.
Police chief David Swing said 84 percent of cities and counties in California have enacted bans or moratoriums on medical marijuana shops, “and the rest have ordinances regulating them.”
We should be one of the 16 percent that license and limit the numbers, tax the product and enforce the rules, just as we do with alcohol. The city should charge a licensing fee to pay for staff time and charge an impact fee similar to the tens of thousands of dollars home builders pay.
In San Jose, 73 pot clubs that pay taxes are estimated to generate $3.4 million. Just one in Morgan Hill would generate about $46,575, which could go toward hiring another officer.
At this point, any patient who needs medical marijuana must drive to San Jose, and while not an overly taxing burden, it is something someone who needs a prescription of Vicodin need not make.
Banning medical marijuana dispensaries for all because some abuse it is not the answer. Regulating it is.
