cannabisnews.com: Pot Committee Smokes Peace Pipe





Pot Committee Smokes Peace Pipe
Posted by CN Staff on July 04, 2003 at 16:28:31 PT
By Michelle Meyers, Staff Writers
Source: Daily Review
Hayward -- The issue of how to deal with the city's medical marijuana dispensaries has been pretty much nipped in the bud. After just two meetings of a city ad hoc committee on the subject, members agreed to a plan, subject to the City Council's approval, that would allow two dispensaries on Foothill Boulevard to exist for at least three years under certain conditions. A third existing dispensary on B Street is moving to a new location on Foothill Boulevard north of the city border on unincorporated county land, according to committee members. 
The committee of city officials, community members and medical marijuana advocates was formed to look into the possibility of sanctioning, even if informally, the dispensaries now operating against Hayward's zoning law. They also may be in violation of criminal law, depending upon to whom you talk. Prop. 215 legalized marijuana for medicinal uses in California, although it still is considered illegal under federal law. The Hayward Police Department declined to participate on the committee because of this inherent conflict. After weeding through the issues and concerns, members said they can live with a compromise offered by City Manager Jesus Armas. The plan is to begin by asking council members at a work session this fall if they would like to consider an ordinance recognizing certain medical marijuana identification cards. The council might, for example, want to deem identification cards that the county plans to issue residents in unincorporated areas as acceptable for Hayward patients. The council also would consider an "informal understanding" with the dispensaries that they can operate for three years if they agree to: limit the amount of pot on-site each day; try to keep people from hanging out near the facilities; ban advertising; recognize that the operation is subject to police inspection; and encourage patients not to smoke on-site or on the streets. "We don't want marijuana smoke wafting out of buildings," Mayor Roberta Cooper said. "We want this to be very quiet." At the end of three years, if the state and federal governments have worked out the jurisdictional conflict, the city might consider amending its zoning law to allow the dispensaries to operate under a conditional use permit, Armas said. "If the state and federal conflict is not resolved, you would cease operations," Armas said, addressing the dispensary owner. However, if by that time a plan under study to widen Foothill Boulevard is implemented, the two existing Foothill shops, both near the intersection with B Street, would be forced to move for other reasons: They happen to be right in the project's wrecking path on land the city would take. Committee member Shon Squier, who owns the Local Patients Cooperative, said he's concerned about the condition to limit the amount of pot on-site, particularly as business has picked up. But limiting the amount of marijuana will make his facility less vulnerable to robberies, not to mention a federal raid, said Mayor Roberta Cooper. "The more you have, the more risk you run of the marijuana Gestapo coming after you," she said. "And keep in mind, you are not allowed to exist under the present structure." The entire committee was present Wednesday: Armas, Cooper, Squier, city attorneys Michael O'Toole and Maureen Conneely, Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative director Jeff Jones, Medical Cannabis Association president and Hayward shop owner Jane Weirick, Chamber of Commerce representative Chris Zaballos and Westminster Hills Presbyterian Church Pastor John Wichman. The Hayward dispensaries aren't new: The youngest is about 6 months old, and the oldest has been around for more than a decade. But their profile was raised earlier this year after a report in The Daily Review about a proposed new dispensary. The city turned down the proposed new owner and notified the existing dispensary owners that they were violating the law. That led Squier to ask the council to form a committee to consider authorizing the dispensaries' existence.Michelle Meyers covers Hayward, Cherryland and Fairview. Note: Members agree on proposal for Hayward's dispensaries.Source: Daily Review, The (CA)Author: Michelle Meyers, Staff WritersPublished: Friday, July 04, 2003Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc.Contact: revlet angnewspapers.comWebsite: http://www.dailyreviewonline.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmHayward Discusses Rezoning Pot Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16361.shtmlPot Facilities in Hayward Highlight Viewpointhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15764.shtml
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