LODI TO DRAW UP MEDICAL POT LAW

City Council OKs Moratorium in the Meantime

LODI - There are no local laws in Lodi related to the operation of
medical marijuana dispensaries, so the City Council on Wednesday gave
staff 45 days to try to make one.

The need to address medical marijuana sales within city limits comes
from a recent announcement from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that
the Department of Justice would not seek to shut down medical
marijuana shops in the 13 states - California included - that have
legalized dispensaries despite federal laws that prohibit them.

Since the late February announcement, Lodi has had four community
members petition to open a dispensary.

On Wednesday, the City Council voted 4-0 to place a 45-day moratorium
on the opening of medical marijuana shops so city staff can research
and propose an ordinance that meets the city's needs.

The moratorium can be extended for up to two years, City Attorney
Steve Schwabauer said. The topic of medical marijuana promises to
ignite community debate in conservative Lodi.

Proponents of medical marijuana spoke to the council Wednesday night
stressing that regulated marijuana shops can provide quality medicine
to people who need it.

Americans for Safe Access member Lanette Davies told the council she
wants to see the city be open-minded but also very selective.

"Do you want 50 of them? Of course not," Davies said. "But what you
want to offer is close, safe access for people that need it."

On the other side of the issue, Police Chief David Main submitted a
written report to the council citing crime statistics from cities that
have operating dispensaries, including Modesto.

Main reported the Modesto dispensary's owner was arrested for being in
possession of a concealed weapon and a loaded firearm. Illegal drug
transactions have occurred in the parking lot. Additionally, a high
school student was found to be in possession of 74 rocks of cocaine. A
search warrant of the student's house revealed scales, baggies, money
and marijuana packaged from the medical marijuana dispensary."

What it boils down to, Councilman Bob Johnson said, is a land-use
issue.

"I'm not dismissing what the chief says, but at the same time, the
quandary is that this is a legitimate business, according to
California law," Johnson said. "Do we want to usurp that, go above
that? That's what we have to decide."