[420 Girl]

The late hour and lack of a full board prompted the Planning Board to delay its vote on marijuana clinics Monday night. The board now plans to vote whether to recommend that the city council ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Alameda at its Jan. 11 meeting.

Last December, the city council adopted a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries within the city limits. The vote was in response to an unexpected dispensary, known as the "Purple Elephant," opening its doors on Webster Street earlier in the year. The proprietors had managed to receive a business permit from the city by simply defining their business as "miscellaneous retail." Since the city council's moratorium is set to expire June 30, 2010, planning board members asked that Andrew Thomas, planning services manager, research and draft a new proposal to replace it.

Thomas recommended that the city council adopt an amendment to the Alameda Municipal Code that would prohibit "the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Alameda." He made it clear in his executive summary that he was not recommending banning medical marijuana use within the city, just the dispensaries.

Thomas cited reports from law-enforcement agencies within cities that have allowed medical marijuana operations. Police reports indicate that several secondary negative effects pop up in response to the dispensaries in their cities. These include illegal drug use, robberies, DUIs and an increase in building vacancies around the marijuana dispensaries.

Thomas' report also cited the questionable legality of medicinal marijuana dispensaries as a reason for banning them within the city. Though Californians passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, which allows a "qualified person to use and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes," the rest of the bill's language makes it unclear if dispensaries are actually allowed.

The federal government prohibits all usage of marijuana. During the Bush administration, raids on medical marijuana dispensaries were quite common, but President Barack Obama has since indicated he is willing to reconsider such force.

The board's full session went for three hours Monday night. By the time the board got to the dispensary discussion, it was nearly 10 p.m.; board members didn't feel they could tackle the issue at such a late hour. In addition, as the board was not at full capacity, some members felt that the presence of a full board would better suit a vote on the measure.

If the board recommends banning the dispensaries to the city council, and the city council then bans them, Alameda will join 29 California cities and two counties in banning medical marijuana dispensaries.

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