Pleasanton & Dublin Pass Moratoriums

Posted on Wed, Aug. 17, 2005

Cannabis club moratoriums OK'd


*By Chris Metinko and Sophia Kazmi*

*CONTRA COSTA TIMES*

Both Dublin and Pleasanton's city councils on Tuesday night unanimously
approved 45-day moratoriums on medical marijuana dispensaries within
their borders.

The moratorium will give the cities time to craft ordinances on how to
deal with dispensary applications.

"It deserves that attention," said Dublin Mayor Janet Lockhart. "We
don't want to push this under the rug and hopes it goes away, because it
won't go away."

In Pleasanton, some council members said they wanted to make sure they
fully study the issue before they make a decision.

"I'm very, very concerned about our community not having access to
medical marijuana," said Pleasanton Mayor Jennifer Hosterman.

"I think it's unfortunate the federal government has put politicians
into a position to make medical decisions," said Councilman Steve
Brozosky. He also took time to comment on what he perceived as the
city's one-sided staff reports on the issue, which he said did not
consider some of the more positive medical uses for marijuana.

Only one resident spoke at Dublin's meeting. Glenn White said he was
concerned the moratorium may lead to a ban on such operations.

"I think there is an attempt to demonize this," he said.

Dublin and Pleasanton have had inquiries about how to establish a
dispensary in their cities, as have the Tri-Valley cities of Danville
and Livermore. Tri-Valley police chiefs are urging all their cities to
adopt such ordinances.

Many other local cities, and even Alameda County, have approved similar
ordinances.

The battle over medical marijuana dispensaries recently popped back into
the headlines as the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that federal
marijuana laws could be enforced, despite California's law allowing for
personal medical use. In California, Proposition 215, the Compassionate
Use Act of 1996, allows for a person to use marijuana for medical
purposes if approved by a doctor.

Pleasant Hill, Richmond, Antioch, Oakley, Albany, El Cerrito, Hercules,
Pinole, San Pablo, Emeryville and Alameda County approved similar
moratoriums in the past year; Berkeley adopted a zoning ordinance to
limit the number of dispensaries to the three already there. San
Francisco approved a moratorium this year.

A 45-day moratorium can be extended twice. The first extension would
give the city an additional 10 months and 15 days to study the issue,
while the second extension grants another year for the moratorium. A
four-fifths vote is needed to approve such a moratorium and any extensions.

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/Reach Chris Metinko at cmetinko [at] cctimes.com
<mailto:cmetinko [at] cctimes.com> or 925-847-2125. Reach Sophia Kazmi at
925-847-2212 or skazmi [at] cctimes.com <mailto:skazmi [at] cctimes.com>./