NEW POT ORDINANCE APPROVED

City Council Goes with New, Stricter Game Plan

By a 6-1 vote, the Santa Barbara City Council tentatively approved a
new and stricter medical marijuana ordinance that would allow no more
than three dispensaries within city limits. In addition, the council
agreed to place an initiative on the November ballot asking city
voters whether dispensaries should be banned outright. The vote came
after more than three hours of passionate debate, ornate oratory, and
intricate procedural maneuvers among a board of elected officials who
have collectively wrestled with the issue for no less than 21
meetings within the past year.

The vote comes three weeks after the council seemed to have put the
matter to rest. That's when the council tentatively adopted a measure
that would have set the maximum number of dispensaries at five. That
vote came unglued, however, when Councilmember Frank Hotchkiss
experienced a change of heart two weeks ago and opted - upon
reconsideration - to vote against an ordinance that he had helped
craft. At that point, Mayor Helene Schneider and Councilmember Bendy
White concluded the council had reached an impasse and proposed
placing two competing initiatives on this November's ballot - one in
favor of the five-dispensary ordinance and another for a total ban.

Dispensary opponents on the council opposed the two-initiative
solution, however, and persuaded White - a self-described swing vote
- - to vote in favor of the one-initiative approach. With White's vote,
the anti-dispensary block - councilmembers Dale Francisco, Frank
Hotchkiss, and Michael Self - had the votes. At that point,
Councilmember Das Williams and Mayor Schneider joined with them,
leaving Councilmember Grant House as the sole councilmember to vote
against the new ordinance and the proposed ballot initiative.