MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVES UNDER FIRE

If Redwood City doesn't halt medical marijuana collectives and give
itself time to draw up regulations, the facilities could operate near
schools and day care facilities, according to city officials asking
the City Council to pass a temporary moratorium.

The city's Planning, Housing and Economic Development Department has
received four "serious inquiries" by people wanting to open
collectives and "numerous" requests for information but no actual
applications, according to that department's director Jill Ekas.

"We've actually gotten multiple calls a week for quite a few weeks,"
Ekas said.

The proposed sites include the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and
El Camino Real, the intersection of Whipple Avenue and El Camino
Real, the 500 block of Woodside road and multiple spots on Veterans
Boulevard.

But with questions pending about how to regulate their location,
officials like Ekas and City Manager Peter Ingram want the council to
give them time to find the answers.

The issues aren't just location - city staff want to know if hours
and security should be required, if the city should adopt its own
identification program or use another agency's template, if licensing
and criminal background checks are needed for operators and
employees and, if licensing is required, how often it must be renewed.

"We need to figure out how to process these if we have no
regulations," Ekas said.

California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996. Senate Bill
420 clarified the law in 2004. In the time since, counties and cities
have struggled with abiding by the law while keeping the collectives
in check. According to Redwood City data, 50 cities have temporarily
banned them through a moratorium like it is considering, 100 have
banned them outright and approximately 30 cities allow them with
regulations.

Without new rules, medical marijuana businesses could be zoned in
Redwood City similar to pharmacies, medical offices or clinics,
meaning they could potentially operate near schools and day care
facilities. City staff say this is "cause for concern," not to
mention other potential problems from the lack of framework.

Nearby cities have documented increased crime after marijuana
collectives came to town, according to the staff recommendation which
lists problems such as illegal drug activities, robberies and loitering.

The requested moratorium requires a four-fifths majority vote and, if
passed, lasts 45 days. An allowed extension of 22 months and 15 days
would keep the collectives at bay until Jan. 28, 2010 unless a second
extension is then passed. If passed, the moratorium becomes
effective immediately.

As an alternative to the proposal, the City Council could ban
collectives outright, allow them but with regulations or do nothing
and by default allow them with limited restrictions through the use
permit review process.

Redwood City Police Chief Louis Cobarruviaz said he backed the
moratorium because of the secondary effects of crime and nuisance
complaints on the community. More specifically, Cobarruviaz cites the
city of San Mateo for needing more police services before the Drug
Enforcement Agency shut down four marijuana dispensaries in 2007.

Like city staff, Cobarruviaz pointed to the need for the "opportunity
to provide a thoughtful study of the potential impacts."

Redwood City is far from alone in proactively pushing back
collectives creeping into its borders.

On Thursday, the South San Francisco City Council extended its
current moratorium for 10 months and 15 days, using the same
reasoning of needing to determine how to balance zoning and community
concern with support of those who want the drug for medical reasons.
The city took action after receiving an application to open a
collective at 175 Utah Ave.

In October, San Bruno leaders also approved a temporary
moratorium.

In contrast, the Board of Supervisors in the spring unanimously
passed a slate of regulations for dispensaries in the unincorporated
area, including 21 provisions regulating the location, security,
products allowed and a ban on advertising and sales of cultivated
marijuana on site.

Applications became available in July but so far even
already-established locations are being forced to shutter because
they fall within the 1,000 feet restriction around schools. Two other
applications for new collectives in the unincorporated county were
also denied in November.

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Info box: The Redwood City Council meets 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 at
City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City.