7/26: Santa Cruz leaders to decide whether to allow medical-marijuana dispensary

For folks in the area, interested in attending the council meeting posted at the
end of the article below, it is a good idea to arrive at 2pm (not 3pm as the
article suggests). The council meeting starts at 2pm with only one agenda item
before the dispensary issue is discussed.

Tuesday, July 26 at 2pm
Santa Cruz City Hall
809 Center Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Kris
July 23, 2005

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/July/23/local/stories/02local.htm

Santa Cruz leaders to decide whether to allow medical-marijuana dispensary

By SHANNA McCORD
Sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ ­ The city nationally recognized as a medical-marijuana booster­
including a law on the books sympathetic to the cause since 2000 ­ may soon
see its first medical-marijuana shop.

A proposal for a medical marijuana outlet on DuBois Street in the Harvey
West Business Park sailed through the Planning Commission.

Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday night, with members Deanna Purnell and
William Schultz absent, to approve a special-use permit for Boulder Creek
resident Lisa Molyneux to operate Greenway, a medical marijuana dispensary.

Molyneux’s plans must now pass the City Council, which will consider the
issue Tuesday.

Molyneux, who has been renting an empty 5,000-square-foot office for
several months to house the dispensary, agreed to a list of conditions to
help Greenway "be a good neighbor" to the Harvey West area.

Patrick O’Hara, chief executive of Ambios Technology on Pioneer Street,
three blocks from Dubois Street, was the only person to speak against the
dispensary.

O’Hara, disappointed in the outcome, said a pot shop, even for seriously
ill people, sends the wrong message about Santa Cruz to the greater
business community.

"The impression of business executives I know in the Silicon Valley is that
this is not a place for serious business. They think anything goes in Santa
Cruz," O’Hara said. "Santa Cruz isn’t presenting itself as a place
conducive to anything but drugs, derelicts and homeless people."

However, Molyneux, a thyroid cancer patient in remission, says she’ll run
Greenway in a manner that will ease the fears of critics.

Greenway would operate 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and be watched by a security guard.
All marijuana buyers and sellers would be required to show a valid card
sanctioned by the state Health Department.

Using the medication in the office or the parking lot would not be allowed
and loitering would be prohibited. Problem individuals would be "blacklisted."

"We want to be low-key and not be a burden," Molyneux said.

The Planning Commission stipulated that a review take place six months
after opening to identify possible problems.

Commissioner Rod Quartararo expressed reservations about how the city’s
ordinance fits with the federal law, which forbids the use of marijuana
even for medical reasons.

Quartararo was also concerned with issues raised in a letter from police
Lt. Rudy Escalante, who recommended the commission deny the proposal
because the dispensary would be within 600 feet of the Wagoner Grove area.
Wagoner Grove is popular for swimming, barbecues and youth activities.

"The area near Wagoner Grove (already) receives regular complaints of
drinking and drug use by persons who frequent the homeless shelter,"
Escalante wrote. "The proposed use will adversely affect the health, safety
and welfare of the businesses in the area."

No one from the Police Department attended the Planning Commission meeting.

Commissioner Kaitilin Gaffney said the dispensary would "be a strong public
benefit," saving the county’s estimated 4,000 medical marijuana patients
from making "the hellacious trek through Fremont and 880 traffic just to
hold their food down."

The difficulty of finding sympathetic landlords has delayed the opening of
a medical marijuana dispensary because the city strictly limits where such
businesses locate, Gaffney said.

"This is a real Catch-22," she said. "We say we want this kind of business,
but there’s no room at the end to allow this. If not Harvey West, where
else is it going to go?"

Mayor Mike Rotkin said he expects the dispensary to "sail through the City
Council as well."

Contact Shanna McCord at
<mailto:smccord [at] santacruzsentinel.com?subject=Santa Cruz leaders to decide
whether to allow medical-marijuana dispensary>smccord [at] santacruzsentinel.com.

What’s next for proposed pot shop
The Santa Cruz City Council will listen to public comment, then vote on the
issue, starting at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Owner Lisa Molyneux must obtain a business license to operate in the city.

Security details must be reviewed by the Police Department.