cannabisnews.com: Vote Delayed on Cap for Pot Clubs





Vote Delayed on Cap for Pot Clubs
Posted by CN Staff on May 25, 2005 at 07:05:18 PT
By Michelle Maitre, Staff Writer 
Source: Oakland Tribune 
California -- Alameda County supervisors delayed a vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas. Supervisor Nate Miley pushed for the two-week postponement to give the public more time to review the controversial ordinance. It calls for no more than five dispensaries — down from the current seven — in unincorporated areas of Castro Valley, Ashland, Cherryland and San Lorenzo, and enforces regulations on permitting, hours of operation, yet-to-be determined operation fees and other issues.
The ordinance is expected to come before the board again June 7 for a first reading and vote, but the delay will push the board close to a June 17 deadline set by Sheriff Charles Plummer, who has said he will start enforcing federal law and shut down the dispensaries unless the county has an enforceable ordinance in place. In an interview after the meeting, Plummer said he's willing to extend the deadline, as long as supervisors take a vote in two weeks that demonstrates a good-faith effort to move ahead. If the board doesn't pass the ordinance at the first reading, the department will move against the dispensaries, Plummer said. Instead of taking a vote Tuesday, the board heard more than two hours of public comment and a wide variety of views on the proposed ordinance, including comment from Oakland resident Angel Raich, a plaintiff in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that challenges the federal government's raids against medical marijuana dispensaries and patients. Children's advocates, business owners and neighborhood association representatives lobbied for a tougher ordinance and fewer dispensaries. Many favored a plan suggested by Miley that would open a clinic at county-owned Fairmont Hospital in unincorporated San Leandro. But medical marijuana patients and dispensary owners presented the other side, saying they support safe dispensaries close to home. Some speakers said the clinics are responsible business owners who are becoming scapegoats for other neighborhood problems. But Miley — who has been working on the ordinance for two years — warned speakers that the board is fast approaching the sheriff's deadline. He grew frustrated with those trying to "poke holes" in the ordinance. "It's beyond my ability at this point to fashion something that's going to please you all," said Miley, his voice rising in anger. If an ordinance isn't adopted soon, Miley said, "there won't be any dispensaries because the sheriff will shut them down." Note: Sheriff may shut operations in unincorporated parts of county if ordinance not in place by June 17.Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author:  Michelle Maitre, Staff Writer Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2005Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htm Regulating Pot Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20716.shtmlWeeding Out Pot Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20660.shtmlSupervisor Proposes County-Run Pot Clinic http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20654.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on May 26, 2005 at 09:51:19 PT
Meanwhile, Across the Atlantic, the Same Struggle
Cannabis coffeeshop confusion 
by Russell Spalding (24 May, 2005) Will foreigners be allowed in? http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4360.html"Is this the last summer you will be able to enjoy sweet weed and heavenly hash in a Dutch coffeeshop, or is the legendary Dutch cannasystem going to be around long after its enemies are floating face down in a fetid canal?"
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Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on May 25, 2005 at 18:19:25 PT
CA LEOs refusing to enforce CA law
Nick posted:By what legal authority would the good Sheriff shut down these dispenseries that are in compliance with state law?Apparently, the "good Sheriff" is always willing and/or ready to fall back on his standard feds excuse:The ordinance is expected to come before the board again June 7 for a first reading and vote, but the delay will push the board close to a June 17 deadline set by Sheriff Charles Plummer, who has said he will start enforcing federal law and shut down the dispensaries unless the county has an enforceable ordinance in placeIt will be up to us to remind Sheriff Plummer in very direct terms that the California Constitution REQUIRES he enforce state law, not federal law, by default, and that if he refuses to enforce CALIFORNIA law---citing a preference for federal law---he is in violation of his oath as a California law enforcement officer and can be sued or prosecuted (lawyers please chime in with better info on this?).
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Comment #3 posted by Nick Thimmesch on May 25, 2005 at 17:01:40 PT:
This is interesting..
..in that this is one of the first reports I've seen (I'm sure there are others, but nothing much has really been heard from the grassroots prohibition crowd) of organized opposition in California (other than law enforcement):Children's advocates, business owners and neighborhood association representatives lobbied for a tougher ordinance and fewer dispensaries.Then there's the question asked:By what legal authority would the good Sheriff shut down these dispenseries that are in compliance with state law?Apparently, the "good Sheriff" is always willing and/or ready to fall back on his standard feds excuse:The ordinance is expected to come before the board again June 7 for a first reading and vote, but the delay will push the board close to a June 17 deadline set by Sheriff Charles Plummer, who has said he will start enforcing federal law and shut down the dispensaries unless the county has an enforceable ordinance in place
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 25, 2005 at 16:29:28 PT
DPA Press Release
Dutch Official Seeks Further Liberalization to Solve Crime ProblemsWednesday, May 25, 2005Gerd Leers was once a staunch prohibitionist in the Dutch Parliament, but three years as a local leader have changed his perspective. Leers, now the Mayor of Maastricht, a Dutch border city, is calling for the creation of "cannabis boulevards" in border areas to ease problems associated with cross-border drug tourism. He also seeks regulation of the supply of marijuana (cannabis) to coffee shops to eliminate a robust black market created by the fact that production of the plant is illegal in the Netherlands.Border areas attract a large number of "drug tourists" from Germany, Belgium and France – Maastricht has 1.5 million visitors every year, the majority of whom come not only to enjoy the pleasant atmosphere of the city, but also to buy marijuana. The demand created by these tourists is accompanied by an increase in drug-related crime. Because it is illegal to grow marijuana in the Netherlands, police in Maastricht spend a great deal of time removing home-based grow operations. Small plantations exist mostly in the houses of low-income families, but are overseen by professional criminals. This strategy allows those running the plantations to take smaller losses when the grow operations are raided, while impoverished families take the fall. This “cottage industry” also gives rise to turf wars among the groups running plantations. In addition, border towns wrestle with crime related to the illegal sale of larger amounts of marijuana than are available in the official – strictly regulated – coffee shops, and crime related to the sale of illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin.Leers advocates legalization of marijuana production, and supports the idea of centralized locations where people can buy marijuana – "cannabis boulevards" – to alleviate the impact of drug tourism on border cities. Last month, the Netherlands' Minister of Government Reform and Inner City Problems, Alexander Pechtold, spoke out in support of the "cannabis boulevard" approach, and advocated loosening European Union (EU) policies around marijuana as a long term solution.Pechtold's position – at loggerheads with that of the more conservative Minister of Justice, Piet Hein Donner – was backed by the mayors of 20 of the 30 most populous cities in the Netherlands. In the wake of Pechtold’s comments, the Dutch Parliament held a debate about possible experimentation with marijuana policy, which resulted in two motions: one instructing the Dutch government to approach other EU governments for their views on a more liberal marijuana policy, and the other telling the government to develop experiments exploring the regulation of marijuana growth to supply coffee shops.Leers recently convened a conference of experts and local authorities from the area as well as the adjoining German and Belgian provinces to work toward a regional liberalization arrangement that could also serve as an example for other European regions, given that an EU-wide arrangement does not seem likely any time soon.Speakers at the conference (among them law professors, representatives of the treatment sector, the Lord Mayor of the Belgian city of Liege and the President of the Association of Maastricht Coffeeshops) stressed the advantages of the Dutch public health approach to drug policy, which results in generally lower problematic drug use than is seen in the neighboring German and Belgian provinces. They also presented statistics that they said demonstrate the superiority of this approach to more repressive policies practiced in countries like the United States and elsewhereThe conference adopted a resolution calling for closer regional cooperation on law enforcement and experimentation with strictly regulated and certified marijuana growing at the regional level. A follow-up conference with more concrete proposals will take place later this year.This strategy by authorities at the local and regional level has a parallel in state-based drug policy reform work in the United States. As the traditional “laboratories of democracy,” states often blaze the trail for the slower-moving federal government to embrace reform. Similarly, regional reforms in Europe initiated by Leers and others who recognize that repressive policies do not work can pave the way for common sense drug policy reforms in the EU as a whole. 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/052505dutch.cfm
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Comment #1 posted by dongenero on May 25, 2005 at 07:22:16 PT
huh?
So, the currently there are 7 dispenseries and the proposed "ordinance" allows for only 5.
However, Miley states that if an ordinance is not approved, Deputy Dog will shut them all down?By what legal authority would the good Sheriff shut down these dispenseries that are in compliance with state law?
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