Pot Clubs to Face County Crack Down in Alameda Cty.

Pot Clubs to Face County Crack Down

By : Robert Souza : 4/29/08

New restrictions on, and closer scrutiny of, local medical marijuana dispensaries came up for review at last Wednesday’s Unincorporated Services meeting in San Lorenzo.

“Since one of the local clubs was raided by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), we wanted to bring this (ordinance) back before the community,” said Supervisor Miley. “The changes we’ve made will allow more control from the board of supervisors and the community.”

In 2005, county supervisors, on a unanimous vote of 4-0 (Supervisor Keith Carson absent), approved an ordinance that set guidelines for permitting local medical marijuana dispensaries in Alameda County.

Federal courts have ruled that medical marijuana patients and providers can be arrested under federal law, despite California laws (a 1996 voter initiative legalized medicinal use of marijuana in the state).

“From one who has had 25 years of hell fighting drugs in my area, I can tell you this will get no support from the people who live here,” said Richard Hancocks, a Fairmont Terrace resident and former planning commissioner.

“When the DEA shut that one down on Mission Blvd., they promised me they were committed to removing the other ones and I hope they make good on their word.”

New amendments to the ordinance prohibit dispensaries from selling any food products while banning machines that sell marijuana products. They also require operators to report data on how regulations are working in addition to allowing law enforcement access to facilities for compliance inspections without notice.

Other regulations will limit business expansion of dispensaries to adjoining buildings and prohibit the use of other adjacent locations or outlets. Each dispensary will also be limited to 20 pounds of marijuana on hand at any time, and the availability of hashish (a more potent form of marijuana) would lessen the allowed marijuana stock by three pounds for every pound of hashish.

“The Feds can come in and crack down like they have, but the board of supervisors went on record in support of dispensaries with this ordinance,” said Miley. “I feel strongly that medical marijuana is a necessity for disabled people who would be nonexistent without it, but we want to be able to control it.”

The ordinance will also allow the board of supervisors discretion to determine the period when applications for dispensaries will be accepted, and eliminate the lottery process of accepting, reviewing and issuing permits.

One audience member complained to the supervisors, asking why are the only dispensaries in operation are in Cherryland and not on Castro Valley Boulevard.

The ordinance is set to go before the board of supervisors for approval in June.