KKFX San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara - News-SB County Seeks Moratorium on Marijuana Dispensaries
Member Center:
12.08.09
SANTA MARIA – The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries fearing they could spread quickly into unincorporated areas of the county where there are no real zoning or land use restrictions against them.
At a hearing Tuesday afternoon in Santa Maria, supervisors were told there have been numerous inquiries about opening cannabis collectives in the unincorporated areas.
"In Old Town Orcutt, in Orcutt, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Goleta, Summerland", says Diane Black of the County Planning & Development Department, "so really it's an issue that seems to be affecting pretty much all of our urbanized areas."
Supporters of an immediate moratorium or even an outright ban on medical marijuana dispensaries told supervisors to act quickly.
"Although it took four months to get a farmer's market in Los Olivos, currently a medical marijuana dispensary can move in and the only recourse that we have or the community has is to try to talk the property owner out of leasing it", says Kathy Cleary of Preserve Our Los Olivos.
The board heard dispensaries have become magnets for crime because of the large amounts of cannabis and cash on hand.
"In addition to the illicit sales we have concerns that have been connected with dispensaries that involve money laundering, robberies and felonious assaults that have taken place on those premises as well", says Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, "our feeling is that a ban should be in place until such time as there is no longer a conflict between the state and federal law as regard to marijuana."
Opponents of a moratorium or ban urged supervisors not to forsake legitimate medical marijuana users that California voters supported when they passed Proposition 215 back in 1996.
"I really feel that people need to have the option", says pharmacist JoAnn LaForce, "I'm afraid that we're going to throw the baby out with the bathwater."
Diane Norman owns one of two cannabis collectives currently operating in Summerland.
"I was amazed at how many people truly are ill and derive great benefit from it", Norman told supervisors, "they are just normal people that really need the medicine."
Supervisors voted unanimously to begin work on drafting a countywide moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and bring it back for a vote next month.
The board's decision to pursue a moratorium follows the same move by the city of Santa Barbara which is now home to nearly a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries.
14 counties in California have enacted moratoriums or outright bans on medical marijuana dispensaries.
