COUNCIL SHOULD RECONSIDER BAN

Risk assessment and risk management requires putting aside personal
bias and avoiding assumptions, anecdotes, double standards, rumors,
inklings, gut feelings and little voices inside one's head. It
requires assimilating and analyzing available factual data to
determine whether the benefits or detriment weigh most heavily.

The male members of the Yucca Valley Town Council voted to approve the
first reading of a "permanent ban" on medical marijuana dispensaries.
The second reading will perhaps reflect the fact that council members
cannot permanently impose their wills upon courts, voters or future
council members.

All retail businesses are subject to being robbed and worse. Many
local businesses are robbed on a recurring basis. Suggesting that
because a store in Barstow was robbed, because non-addictive marijuana
is the most prevalent "street drug," because of the absurd and readily
refutable rumor that average medical marijuana patients are in their
early 20s and because only two doctors with conflicting opinions were
consulted to determine whether medical marijuana is beneficial,
certain members of the Town Council persuaded themselves that the sole
local source of relief for many ill and disabled local citizens is too
risky.

Permanent bans can, however, be placed on illogical, uninformed, naive
and lazy council members.

Consulting a young child or flipping a coin would have been less
superficial and inconclusive. Perhaps prior to the second reading,
they will endeavor to reconcile the peril they now pose to the community.

David Peach

Joshua Tree