MEDICAL POT DISPENSARIES ARE DEBATED

A debate over how to regulate San Diego's medical marijuana
dispensaries yesterday morphed into a discussion about whether the
storefronts should be allowed to operate in the city.

More than 25 community activists addressed the San Diego City Council
as it heard the recommendations of a city-appointed task force on
how, where and when dispensaries can operate.

After hearing an hour of public comment and posing a handful of
questions about the regulations, the council decided to postpone
discussion on the matter until Jan. 4.

The majority of the speakers urged the council to reject the
recommendations and either ban dispensaries or place a moratorium on
them.

"As a mother of two teenagers, I'm horrified my children are seeing
these shops every day," said Marcie Beckett, a homemaker in Pacific
Beach. "The police say these shops are illegal. The state Attorney
General says these shops are illegal because they're selling at a
profitaE& Over 200 cities and counties have already said no to these
shops, and we can too."

California voters legalized the use of medical marijuana by seriously
ill patients in 1996 with Proposition 215. However, the vagueness of
state statutes and the fact that the drug is still illegal under
federal law have prompted cities across the state to take very
different approaches in regulating its use. Several cities in San
Diego County have banned dispensaries, including Escondido and El
Cajon. If the City of San Diego approves a city ordinance regulating
dispensaries, it would be the first in the county to do so.

Eleven of the 27 speakers pushed the council to adopt the
recommendations, saying the proposed regulations would help ensure
stores are run lawfully.

"People using medical marijuana want reasonable, real rules, and
that's what the task force has come forward with," said Crickett
Bradburn of Pacific Beach. "This is a responsible way of dealing with
the stores."

The task force recommendations would require dispensaries to file for
city permits. Storefronts would only be allowed in commercial and
industrial zones, and would need to be at least 1,000 feet from
schools and libraries, and 500 feet from other dispensaries.
Operating hours would be limited to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and
dispensaries would need to have security cameras and a licensed guard
when open. They would also need to file paperwork with the city
showing plans to operate as a nonprofit.

Alex Kreit, a Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor and chairman
of the city's medical marijuana task force, characterized the
opponents as "a small but vocal minority" that is misinformed about
state law.

He pointed to a recent poll by Competitive Edge Research &
Communication that showed that only 9 percent of respondents support
banning dispensaries in the city.

"Their beef is with state law, but they're stuck with the state law,
which says the co-ops and collectives are legal if they abide by
regulations," Kreit said. "There's no doubt in my mind that if San
Diego were to ban the collectives, they'd face legal challenges."