COUNCIL BANS POT DISPENSARIES

After months of discussion, the Salinas City Council has banned
medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits.

A 4-3 vote Tuesday decided in favor of an ordinance that will keep
them out of Salinas.

"I'm sorry for the people who have cancer, who'll die because they
don't have this to make it better," Councilman Sergio Sanchez said.
"We talk about being a city of peace ... if we don't respect their
rights, we'll be hypocritical."

As in August's tied decision, Sanchez and council members Jyl Lutes
and Gloria De La Rosa voted to reject the ban, while council members
Janet Barnes and Tony Barrera and Mayor Dennis Donohue voted in its favor.

"This ordinance is the right thing to do at this time," Donohue said.

Councilman Steven Villegas, absent during the August meeting, broke
the tie in favor of the ban Tuesday night.

The federal government considers marijuana used to ease chronic or
serious illness illegal, but California voters passed Proposition 215
in 1996 to allow its use.

About half a dozen people, including law enforcement officials and
residents, spoke for and against the ordinance during the
hour-and-a-half meeting.

"Do not put your police department in a situation where they're at
odds with the federal government," cautioned Monterey County District
Attorney Dean Flippo.

But Daniel Gutierrez of Salinas, who has Crohn's disease, urged the
council to consider seriously ill community members who must travel
at least an hour to reach a dispensary.

"You shouldn't punish law-abiding citizens," Gutierrez said. "Between
gas prices and traffic, it's a lot easier to survive (if dispensaries
are) local."

While offering compassion for residents who truly need the drug,
Barnes, Barrera and Donohue were steadfast in their vote for the ordinance.

"We have enough problems; we have a huge problem with gang violence,"
Barnes said. "How are we going to be a city of peace if we say we're
going to legalize marijuana and ask our officers, who are already
understaffed, to go out and do code enforcement?"

Marina banned medical-marijuana dispensaries in February, as did
Seaside in 2006.