[420 Girl]

Red Bluff officials backed down tonight from adopting a law that would have permanently banned medicinal marijuana dispensaries and the cultivation of pot within the city limits.

In a 5-0 vote, Red Bluff City Council members decided to table their previously discussed proposal that called for the strict bans. The council put the proposed ordinance aside on the advice of city attorney Rick Crabtree.

Council members wanted more time to explore whether to allow the indoor growing of marijuana under state guidelines. They also want to make it clear that an exchange of marijuana for medicinal purposes between a caregiver and a patient does not constitute a dispensary.

However, Red Bluff’s 45-day ban on marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives still is in force. The council adopted an urgency ordinance Nov. 3 that imposed the temporary ban on dispensaries.

“I’m glad they (council members) backed up on cultivation, but the collective part they kept the same. The ban still is in effect,” said Ken Prather, owner of the Tehama Herbal Collective in Corning.

A public hearing earlier tonight drew about 100 people with the majority of those supporting medicinal cannabis and opposing the city’s ordinances. The meeting location was switched from the City Council chambers to the Red Bluff Community/Center in anticipation of a crowd.

Prather spoke in favor of letting the dispensaries operate.

“L.A. just overrode their city attorney’s recommendation to close dispensaries and I ask you to do the same,” he told council members.

A Gerber man, 63-year-old Edward Bealer, who is not a patient, spoke in favor of medicinal marijuana. He said his son uses marijuana for a health condition and that his sister had overdosed on the painkiller OxyContin.

“I support the movement because the people should have an herbal alternative to synthetic drugs,” Bealer said.

Meanwhile, Anderson City Council members voted 5-0 tonight to extend the city’s current moratorium on dispensaries, collectives and co-ops by four months. Instead of ending Dec. 4, the moratorium will last until April 4.

The extension will let city officials see how other cities and counties are handling the medicinal marijuana issue, according to a staff report.

Mayor Butch Schaefer said he’s paying close attention to how Red Bluff deals with it.

Council members also asked staff members to pursue regulations and a potential prohibition on growing medicinal marijuana.

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