CIRCLING THE POT

City Council Moves On Marijuana Ordinance

Near the end of a public hearing during the Chico City Council's regular
meeting on Tuesday (Feb. 2), City Attorney Lori Barker made it clear to
Chico's elected leaders that it likely would be mid-April before the panel
would see a draft ordinance related to marijuana cultivation and
dispensaries.

Barker gave that estimated timeline following nearly two hours of council
discussion that was best summed up by a statement Councilman Jim Walker
made about his participation in what is apparently a very confusing
process based on the state's extremely vague Proposition 215--the
Compassionate Use Act.

"I'm kicking around ideas," he said. "I think that's what we're doing here
tonight."

In a meeting back in October, council members discussed nuisance
issues--complaints of odors from outdoor grows and crime related to the
theft of plants--but they did not agree that an ordinance requiring only
indoor cultivation (as several other municipalities have done) was the way
to go. Subsequently, the matter bounced back to the Internal Affairs
Committee.

The IAC recommended that the full council consider an ordinance for
cultivation in residential areas and zoning regulations for dispensaries.
And while a majority now seems poised to get some regulations in place,
the trick is to create something that protects the interests of both
medicinal-marijuana users and the rest of the community.

"We want to allow this to occur ... as long as it doesn't obstruct another
individual's right to enjoy their property," said Mayor Ann Schwab.

Many medical-pot advocates have been waiting a long time to hear that
news. After all, Prop 215 has been around for nearly 14 years. During a
public-comment period, Dylan Tellesen, a local artist and Butte College
instructor, told the council that now is indeed the time to take action on
the matter.

"Patients in this community are tired of having to go get medicine out of
a hotel room or pickup truck or someone's garage," he said.

Tellesen is the executive director of a local medi-pot collective called
Citizen Collective, whose members have been working with city leaders for
months on the issue and waiting to provide the community with safe access
to marijuana.

Echoing him was a Chico-based pot lobbyist, who reminded the council that
marijuana is a "life-saving drug" for many people. Max Del Real, owner of
California Capital Solutions, said he's been up and down the state, urging
city leaders to adopt best practices. He said he's visited 50 dispensaries
during his travels and described them as similar to a traditional
pharmacy.

"It's like going to Rite Aid," he said. "The only difference is, it's
alternative medicine."

Del Real and Tellesen encouraged the council to place a cap on the number
of dispensaries allowed in city limits, but a couple of other speakers
urged the panel to leave that up to the free market.

A majority of speakers advocated for safe and affordable access. One man
asked that the city establish a tax that could be put toward a fund to
help patients purchase their annual state medical-marijuana identification
card, which Councilman Scott Gruendl later said cost about $188 for
non-Medi-Cal patients.

In giving direction to city staff, council members were all over the place.

Vice Mayor Tom Nickell, for instance, who has experience with hazmat
situations, appeared most concerned with prohibiting grows inside
apartments, condos and other homes that share an adjoining wall with
neighboring residents. Both he and Mary Flynn seemed amenable to limiting
the number of dispensaries. Flynn said she appreciates a free-market
perspective, but noted that the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
issues a limited number of liquor licenses for good reason.

The council discussed prohibiting dispensaries in residential areas and
requiring them to be a specific distance from schools, daycare facilities
and churches, and requiring an annual renewal process.

Schwab, who chairs the city's Sustainability Task Force, said she was in
favor of a highly regulated dispensary system with fees that benefit the
city and limited outdoor growing. Jim Walker said outdoor grows should be
out of the sight of the public right-of-way and perhaps set back a certain
number of feet from property lines.

Councilman Andy Holcombe said he thinks dispensaries could be appropriate
for the community and that the city should move quickly on the issue. When
addressing concerns of safe and affordable access, though, he pointed out
that safety issues for the community are just as relevant. He appeared not
to favor indoor grows, saying that it "creates a lot of problems across
the board."

Mum for much of the meeting, Councilman Larry Wahl, appeared to be the
only one with deep reservations about moving forward with an ordinance. He
said that neither cultivation nor dispensaries should be allowed in
residential areas.

"The public safety, I think, has to be paramount in this whole endeavor if
we're going to do anything at all," he said.