ST. HELENA SAYS 'NO' TO MEDICAL POT

St. Helena Residents Will Have To Go Out Of Town To Legally Buy Their
Medical Marijuana.

In the face of strong public opposition, the St. Helena City Council
voted 4-1 this week to abandon an ordinance that would have allowed
up to two marijuana dispensaries in the industrial and service
commercial zoning districts.

"I don't think having a dispensary here will enhance St. Helena,"
said Councilwoman Sharon Crull, adding that she personally supports
medical marijuana. "I just don't think it's necessary, I don't think
it's good for our town, and I don't think the people here want it."

In last week's St. Helena debate, Councilman Eric Sklar cast the only
dissenting vote.

Although Sklar didn't elaborate on Tuesday, when the council asked
city staff to draft an ordinance in January he voiced strong support
for dispensaries, saying medical marijuana helped relieve his late
father's pain while he was battling cancer.

About 70 members of the public attended Tuesday's council meeting.
More than half of the 25 people who addressed the council strongly
opposed the ordinance. Some questioned why it had been drafted at
all.

Public health concerns have led Yountville and American Canyon to ban
dispensaries, said Lisa Toller. "Why can't we?" she asked.

Opponents said that aside from being poorly regulated, dispensaries
would send the wrong message to local teens, who already abuse
alcohol and drugs at rates higher than state and national averages.

They dismissed the argument that local marijuana patients shouldn't
have to drive to Napa or Santa Rosa to purchase marijuana.

"We don't have access to a lot of things here in St. Helena," said
Sara Cakebread, a mother of two teens. "We have to drive to Santa
Rosa (and Napa) to buy underwear for our kids."

Critics also pointed out that the vast majority of people who have
spoken in favor of the ordinance are from outside St. Helena.

"Who is going to benefit from this?" asked John Sales. "The citizens
of St. Helena or some pushers from outside the county?"

Supporters of dispensaries told the council that having legal
marijuana available locally would prevent patients from resorting to
the black market.

In response to concerns about dispensaries increasing marijuana's use
by teens, proponents said teens seeking marijuana for recreational
use wouldn't be interested in the dispensary because its prices would
be significantly higher than prices on the street.

"If you license a dispensary in this town and have tight regulations
aE& they're going to be very afraid of stepping over any lines
because they don't want that permit yanked away as soon as they do
something wrong," said Matt Potter, an analyst with the medical
marijuana consulting firm CannBe.

Regardless of their personal opinions about medical marijuana, city
council members agreed that local residents have clearly expressed
their opinions about the issue.

"We're not here to necessarily just voice our own personal opinion,"
said Councilwoman Bonnie Schoch. "We represent everybody here."

She added that the city needs to hear from the St. Helena Unified
School District, which never commented formally on the ordinance.

City Councilwoman Catarina Sanchez said the council needs more
information, such as how much local demand exists and whether
dispensaries would pose a threat to kids.

The council voted 4-1 not to adopt the ordinance, which effectively
kills it. They stopped short of pursuing a moratorium on dispensaries
because City Attorney John Truxaw said dispensaries are already
illegal in St. Helena.

The city's zoning ordinance has a list of business types that are
acceptable in various zoning districts. Since marijuana dispensaries
aren't mentioned, a moratorium is unnecessary, Truxaw said. But he
warned that dispensaries are among the most highly litigated issues
in the state.

In January, after the city received an inquiry about establishing a
dispensary, city staff suggested that the council might want to adopt
a short-term moratorium. But instead, council members directed staff
to draft an ordinance regulating dispensaries.

The ordinance attracted little controversy when the planning
commission reviewed it. On May 4 commissioners passed the ordinance
on to the council, stressing that they were not endorsing
dispensaries, only following the council's direction to draft an ordinance.

In an e-mail, Planning Commissioner Peter White urged the council to
vote against the ordinance.

"As a planning commissioner, I was not asked my opinion about whether
or not we should have dispensaries but if the council was so moved to
have them -- what zoning regulations should govern them," he wrote.
"In my judgment, the more restrictive the better, and in hindsight a
total ban would be the best."

About 35 e-mails opposing the ordinance were addressed to the entire
council. But individual council members reported receiving "hundreds"
of e-mails for and against the ordinance over the last few weeks.