SUPERVISORS MOVE TO HALT POT CLINICS

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors made the first move to
regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and control cigarette smoke
and associated litter at county parks and beaches Tuesday in its
final meeting of 2009.

Banning tobacco use on beaches and in parks seemed to be a no-brainer
with the supervisors, county staff and the handful of people in the
audience, with all agreeing that such an ordinance could only enhance
recreational areas.

The only hitch in the pot clinic discussion, according to the
comments from the supervisors, was that the county's attorneys
couldn't throw together the wording for a moratorium quickly enough.

Supervisor Salud Carbajal, representing the 1st District -- which has
two pot dispensaries in Summerland -- said if it was a matter of
being short-staffed, then County Counsel Dennis Marshall should
contract the work out to a private law firm.

The relatively lavish offer, considering the county's financial woes,
was eventually discarded and Marshall promised to bring an ordinance
to the board by Jan. 19.

Most cities in the county have adopted bans against store-front
marijuana dispensaries, leaving areas in county jurisdiction
vulnerable because there is no county code addressing the alternative
drug clinics.

"We're not talking about the medicinal use of marijuana," clarified
2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf, who sponsored the item with 4th
District Supervisor Joni Gray. Gray was absent Tuesday with a cold.

"We're talking about the marijuana dispensaries in the community and
the lack of zoning we have ... hence the possible proliferation of
dispensaries in our community and especially the unincorporated
areas," Wolf said.

The county Planning and Development Department treats pot clinics the
same as pharmacies, so if a retail space is already zoned commercial,
then a marijuana dispensary can move in with a lease agreement,
according to county staff.

If only minimal changes in the building are proposed, then a permit
application can be processed over the counter, without the approval
of appointed or elected county officials.

A moratorium, which is what the Board of Supervisors has initially
proposed, would put a temporary ban on any new medical marijuana clinics.

Several residents in the unincorporated county strongly urged the
board to adopt a moratorium as soon as possible.

There were also a handful of locals who believe in the need for
marijuana dispensaries, but acknowledged that the current system's
lack of regulation is troubling.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown listed some of the crimes
that have been associated with pot clinics in the recent past, which
include homicide, robbery, assault, rape and illegal drug sales and
consumption.

"The whole field is really fraught with problems," Brown
said.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with Gray absent, to bring back a
proposed urgency ordinance placing a moratorium on storefront medical
marijuana dispensary at its Jan. 19 meeting.

A similar decision was made on tobacco products on county parks and
beaches after hearing from county staff and community groups about
the massive number of cigarette butts that are collected from public
sites each year.

According to county Public Health staff, Waller Park in Santa Maria
topped the charts on cigarette litter with more than 1,600 butts
picked up in one week in 2008.

The board voted 4-0 to put the matter of a ban before the Park
Commission, which meets 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Cachuma Lake
Recreation Hall at 2225 Highway 154. For more information, call 568-2461.

The item will return to the board at a future date with
recommendations on an ordinance.

The supervisors will be on vacation until their next meeting Jan. 5
in Santa Barbara.