[Sativa]

For the second time this month, the Pleasanton City Council decided to continue its discussion of an ordinance that would ban the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in town.

City Manager Nelson Fialho said the city staff needs more time to gather information requested by the council.

"We did not have enough time between the last meeting and this meeting to incorporate (the information) into the public record or the staff report," Fialho said at Tuesday night's council meeting.

He noted that the city's moratorium on marijuana dispensaries will remain in effect. That moratorium is due to expire in August.

The proposed ordinance will most likely be brought back before the council in early June, Fialho said.

At the council's April 3 meeting, Councilman Matt Sullivan made a request for additional time to consider the medical marijuana dispensary ordinance. Sullivan said that he has since been doing his own research into how dispensaries affect the communities that have them.

"The last time we looked at this, the staff presented all the horror stories and the bad experiences," he said. "But I felt like there was maybe another side of the story, where it has been successful."

Sullivan said he would like to make a medical marijuana dispensary work in the Tri-Valley, if possible. He suggested partnering with neighboring communities or the county to run a pilot program.

However, Pleasanton Police Chief Michael Fraser and City Attorney Michael Roush are urging the council to adopt the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. In their staff report, Fraser and Roush wrote about armed robberies, burglaries and vagrancy in other communities with marijuana dispensaries. They also pointed to cases of dispensary patients or others selling marijuana to people who aren't legally entitled to use it.

Sullivan said he looked at reports from Americans for Safe Access, a group that promotes safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use. He learned about communities, such as Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, that have successful dispensaries.


Newshawk: CoZmO - 420Magazine.com
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Author: Meera Pal
Contact: mpal2@cctimes.com
Copyright: 2007 Contra Costa Times Newspapers
Website: ContraCostaTimes.com