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Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana . City Council Policy Direction. Process & Schedule. 2 Civic Engagement Meetings March 11 : Overview, Feedback and Community Desires April 1 : Playback What We Heard, Outline Issues and Receive Feedback. Current State & Federal Law . 1996 Compassionate Use Act

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Medical Marijuana

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Medical Marijuana City Council Policy Direction

  2. Process & Schedule • 2 Civic Engagement Meetings • March 11: Overview, Feedback and Community Desires • April1: Playback What We Heard, Outline Issues and Receive Feedback

  3. Current State & Federal Law • 1996 Compassionate Use Act • “ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction” • 2004 “Medical Marijuana Program” Act • Established Voluntary Card System • Possession Quantity Guidelines

  4. Current State & Federal Law • 2008 Attorney General’s Guidelines • May 2004 Medical Board Statement • June 2007 SBOE Taxable Sales Notice • Recommends against arrest or seizure under federal law when cultivation, possession or transportation is permitted under state law • Federal Enforcement Stance • October 19, 2009 Ogden US Attorney Memo • Unlawful sale for profit is an enforcement priority • State law sanctioned medical use is “unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources”

  5. Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 • Allows possession, cultivation and transportation of marijuana for personal use by persons over 21 • Permits local governments to regulate and tax commercial production and sale of marijuana to persons 21 years old or older.

  6. Existing Ventura Law • Medical Marijuana “Dispensaries” are not Permitted in any Zoning District • Council added “Belt & Suspenders” Moratorium last Fall • Expires September 3, 2010

  7. Other Cities in Ventura County • Permanent Bans in Camarillo, Oxnard, Moorpark and Simi Valley • Thousand Oaks, Ojai and Santa Paula rely upon their existing zoning ordinances (like Ventura’s) • Interim moratorium in Fillmore

  8. Santa Barbara • Citywide limit of three locations • Prohibited within 600 feet of schools • 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon. through Sat. • Santa Barbara County residents only

  9. Civic Engagement Feedback • Benefits of Regulation • Patients’ Needs • Crime Issues • Social Issues • Regulatory Model • Zoning Issues

  10. Benefits of Regulation • Licensing provides “quality control” over outlets • Potential for taxation • Reduces illicit drug market • Promotes safety for customers • Criminal background checks for operators

  11. Patients’ Needs • Avoid long distance travel for access • “Local legal legitimate access” • Society needs to serve the seriously ill • Affordability concerns due to higher prices in medical outlets

  12. Crime Issues • Crime increases near dispensaries • City is not equipped to monitor dispensaries effectively • Santa Barbara experience has been negative overall

  13. Crime Issues • Drug traffickers will come due to lack of lawful large-scale grow and distribution systems • Illegal resale of medical marijuana is rampant

  14. Social Issues • Children will have greater access to marijuana • Impossible to keep medical marijuana out of the hands of children

  15. Regulatory Model • Closed loop cooperative or collective • Regulate delivery services • No armed security on site • Record larger sales to track them and prevent illegal diversion • How to tax non-profits?

  16. Zoning Issues • 500 foot boundary from schools and sensitive uses like churches and parks • Indoor grow safety hazards • Don’t allow in residential or mixed use zones • Allow in commercial or industrial zones • City zoning may already allow for indoor grow in some areas

  17. Policy Options • Proceed to develop land use regulations to permit medical marijuana cooperatives and collectives • Extend the current moratorium pending the outcome of this November’s election on the “Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010;”

  18. Policy Options • Permanently ban medical marijuana cooperatives and collectives; or • Do nothing, but allow Ventura’s inherent zoning prohibition -- against uses that are not expressly permitted – to serve to forbid marijuana cooperatives and collectives.

  19. Questions and Discussion

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