ASSEMBLYMAN CHIMES IN ON LOCAL POT SHOP CONTROVERSY

In a lengthy letter released yesterday, Assemblymember Pedro Nava
decried the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa
Barbara and called on city leaders to correct what he termed
"inadequate regulations and restrictions" as soon as possible.

Pot dispensaries have spiraled out of control in our community,
threaten the fabric and quality of our lives, and must be stopped," he
said in the prepared statement. "Unfortunately, prior attempts to
regulate pot dispensaries were lacking and have failed."

He pressed city officials to establish a moratorium on new dispensary
applications and investigate shops that are currently open to ensure
they meet state and local laws.

Nava cited the negative influence of dispensaries on young children,
recovering drug addicts and other community members in his letter to
the council.

Parents with school-age children deserve better than to have their
kids walk in front of the marijuana dispensary on their way to class,"
he wrote. "Recovering substance abusers should not have to witness the
proliferation of illegal pot shops as they struggle to resurrect their
lives. And criminals who grow, distribute and sell illegal marijuana
should not see Santa Barbara as just another market to exploit.

It's way past time to roll up the Santa Barbara welcome
mat."

But several city leaders accused him of political posturing, including
Councilmember Das Williams, who is facing off against Nava's wife,
Susan Jordan, in the Democratic race for the termed-out assemblyman's
seat in 2010.

Nava is also hoping to translate his time in the assembly into a
successful run for state attorney general next year.

When he sees the opportunity to score some points, he is obviously
trying to do that," Williams said. "But look, the job is already
getting done."

The city's ordinance committee has worked through a painstaking series
of hearings in recent months while drafting a set of recommendations
to tighten up current regulations on medical marijuana dispensaries --
including a citywide cap of seven dispensaries spread among seven
geographical areas.

Those recommendations are heading to the city's planning commission
for review before proceeding to the full council for approval, likely
in the next month. And city officials decided several weeks ago to
discuss and possibly approve a moratorium on new and pending
dispensary applications, a discussion that will take place in the
coming weeks.

Currently, the city is aware of one permitted dispensary that is open,
eight that are in the approval pipeline, and four that opened before
the city established regulations and have a limited timeframe before
they must close or come into compliance, as well as three illegal
shops that are facing enforcement actions.

Local leaders have been struggling for several years to find a balance
between protecting access to medical marijuana for legitimate patients
while protecting neighborhoods from negative impacts of dispensaries.
A set of regulations went into effect last year, but city officials
continued to receive complaints about the proliferation of new
dispensaries, prompting officials to revisit those
regulations.

Every time the public has come to us, we have ramped up the response,"
Williams said. "We are tightening the regulations on these places,
we're shutting down the ones that are illegal and we are requiring the
ones that are nonconforming to come into compliance."

Attempts to contact Nava for comment on the accusations that his
letter was politically motivated were not successful yesterday.

Reached yesterday afternoon, Mayor Marty Blum said she also believes
the letter has political undertones -- particularly due to the heated
battle between Jordan and Williams over Nava's assembly seat.

His wife is running against our ordinance committee chair," the mayor
said. "Maybe it's too simplistic, but that's the bottom line."

Blum said she couldn't remember the last time Nava has weighed in on
an issue being discussed by Santa Barbara city officials.

He is a resident of the city, so he has the right, but he usually
doesn't meddle in these things," she said.