COMMISSION AGREES ON NEW GUIDELINES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The Arcata Planning Commission agreed Tuesday to prohibit medical
marijuana dispensaries from purchasing pot from any house or apartment
grows.

The restriction is part of a series of guidelines still being
finalized. Co-chair Michael Winkler said the commission has reached
its final conclusion of what the guidelines will be and city staff
will now clean up the guidelines before returning them to the
commission for final approval.

"We're really set on where we want to go with this," Winkler
said.

The guidelines are the result of months of discussions and several
drafts in an effort to come up with a set of regulations for
dispensaries to help ensure access for patients as well as to curb
illegal growing activity. The guidelines will require dispensaries to
be transparent about their operational standards by submitting an
operating manual.

Dennis Turner, CEO of The Humboldt Cooperative, said his dispensary is
ready to comply.

"We will do our best to get all our folks on board," he said.
Cooperative representatives have said in the past that many 215
patients sell excess pot to dispensaries in order to offset the costs
of growing.

But Turner said the cooperative is ready to move forward with the
city's requirements and get all the permits necessary for growing.
Turner added that the city will be giving dispensaries one year to
comply after the guidelines are improved.

"We should be able to have the time we need to transition with minimal
difficulty," he said.

According to Winkler, the commission also decided to put restrictions
on the size and volume of grows and will require dispensaries to
annually report and track their sources of medical marijuana.

"Any marijuana that they buy outside will have to come from a source
that is in compliance with the jurisdiction in which it's grown,"
Winkler said.

The commission also decided that medical marijuana can only be
dispensed in commercial zones, which all but one of Arcata's four
dispensaries are located in.

The Arcata iCenter is located in an industrial/general area and will
have to move, Winkler said, adding that the commission has capped the
number of dispensaries at four, but has long-term goals to only have
three.

While Winkler acknowledges that it is unclear how state regulations in
the works may affect Arcata's guidelines, he is happy with the
outcome, which he said will give dispensaries clear rules in which to
operate their business in a consistent and predicable manner.

"I think that we have done a job that's fair and compassionate toward
medical marijuana patients but also protects the community and
minimizes the impact on other community members," he said.

Turner agreed.

"Overall the city staff did a good job of trying to find a balanced
position," he said.

A copy of the draft guidelines can be found at www.cityofarcata.org.