Psycho4Bud
05-01-2008, 10:05 AM
The Manhattan Beach Planning Commission recently made an official recommendation to ban medical marijuana retail establishments within the city.
The City Council passed a moratorium in 2006 prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and the commission??s April 23 deliberations are part of the due process to amend the zoning land use to prohibit dispensaries in Manhattan Beach as part of the municipal code.
The overriding argument supporting dispensary prohibition was that marijuana is not a legal substance despite state law??the 1996 voter initiative ??Compassionate Use Act?- which allows cities to legally sell it to people who demonstrate a medical need, primarily chemotherapy patients. The contradiction of legally selling an illegal item subjects the dispensaries to federal raids.
Commissioner Sandra Seville-Jones supported the 4-1 banning recommendation noting that federal law prohibits it, the Drug Enforcement Agency raids are a reality, and the state??s approach to medical use and access is lacking.
??The failure is in the state. It did not come up with an appropriate means to navigate the problem between the federal ban and the state wanting people to have access to it (marijuana),? Jones said. ??The medical dispensary system is a patchwork system, putting a lot of pressure on municipalities.?
City Attorney Robert Wadden referred to a recent legal case in Anaheim where the city??s dispensary ban was successfully upheld in court. He stated that this spurred citywide bans of the dispensaries over the last year. ??More and more cities have a ban, that seems to be the trend now,? said Wadden. He further explained that the courts have permitted cities to ban a substance, or the distribution and cultivation of it, that is illegal under federal law. Unlike pornography, alcohol or tattoos, all of which are legal, marijuana is not a protected First Amendment right despite its supported medicinal value for chemotherapy patients.
Other South Bay cities are moving toward a dispensary ban as well. According to staff reports, Hermosa Beach and Lawndale adopted a moratorium ban, and Redondo Beach and El Segundo are considering doing the same.
Manhattan Beach Police Lt. Derrick Abell related the Police Department??s perspective to the commissioners. The police are concerned about the element that the dispensaries may attract, such as people trying to sell their own marijuana near the establishment and the increased possibility of people being robbed once leaving the dispensary. There is also a lack of controls on the marijuana, like where it comes from. The City Council will hear the commission??s recommendation and engage in deliberations on the issue at the May 6 council meeting.
The Beach Reporter - (http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2008/05/01/manhattan_beach_news/news01.txt)
How sad is this.......grasping at straws if ya ask me.
Have a good one!:jointsmile:
The City Council passed a moratorium in 2006 prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and the commission??s April 23 deliberations are part of the due process to amend the zoning land use to prohibit dispensaries in Manhattan Beach as part of the municipal code.
The overriding argument supporting dispensary prohibition was that marijuana is not a legal substance despite state law??the 1996 voter initiative ??Compassionate Use Act?- which allows cities to legally sell it to people who demonstrate a medical need, primarily chemotherapy patients. The contradiction of legally selling an illegal item subjects the dispensaries to federal raids.
Commissioner Sandra Seville-Jones supported the 4-1 banning recommendation noting that federal law prohibits it, the Drug Enforcement Agency raids are a reality, and the state??s approach to medical use and access is lacking.
??The failure is in the state. It did not come up with an appropriate means to navigate the problem between the federal ban and the state wanting people to have access to it (marijuana),? Jones said. ??The medical dispensary system is a patchwork system, putting a lot of pressure on municipalities.?
City Attorney Robert Wadden referred to a recent legal case in Anaheim where the city??s dispensary ban was successfully upheld in court. He stated that this spurred citywide bans of the dispensaries over the last year. ??More and more cities have a ban, that seems to be the trend now,? said Wadden. He further explained that the courts have permitted cities to ban a substance, or the distribution and cultivation of it, that is illegal under federal law. Unlike pornography, alcohol or tattoos, all of which are legal, marijuana is not a protected First Amendment right despite its supported medicinal value for chemotherapy patients.
Other South Bay cities are moving toward a dispensary ban as well. According to staff reports, Hermosa Beach and Lawndale adopted a moratorium ban, and Redondo Beach and El Segundo are considering doing the same.
Manhattan Beach Police Lt. Derrick Abell related the Police Department??s perspective to the commissioners. The police are concerned about the element that the dispensaries may attract, such as people trying to sell their own marijuana near the establishment and the increased possibility of people being robbed once leaving the dispensary. There is also a lack of controls on the marijuana, like where it comes from. The City Council will hear the commission??s recommendation and engage in deliberations on the issue at the May 6 council meeting.
The Beach Reporter - (http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2008/05/01/manhattan_beach_news/news01.txt)
How sad is this.......grasping at straws if ya ask me.
Have a good one!:jointsmile: