SACRAMENTO COUNCIL BACKS TIGHTER LIMITS ON MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

Sacramento City Hall isn't going to limit the number of medical
marijuana dispensaries allowed in the city. But that doesn't mean
there's going to be one on every street corner.

In fact, city officials suspect the number of facilities will likely
go down from the 39 that are registered today, in large part because
of a series of tight restrictions the City Council favors placing on
the dispensaries.

The council directed city staffers Tuesday night to draft an
ordinance that would prohibit dispensaries within 500 feet of
"youth-oriented facilities" such as parks, schools and day-care
centers. The facilities also would have to be at least 500 feet from
churches and substance abuse centers, and 1,000 feet from other dispensaries.

Other places where young people frequent, such as movie theaters,
could be included in the regulations, too.

The ordinance should be finalized by late September.

Michelle Heppner, a special projects manager with the city, told the
council that of the 39 dispensaries currently registered with the
city, only two or three will meet the guidelines the council agreed
upon. However, additional facilities could be allowed to operate
under special permits.

"A lot of them will try to stay where they are, but there will be
cases where they are not able to," Heppner said. "We don't believe
that all 39 are going to make it through the process."

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said, "there are probably some folks that
are not as good as others and the hope is that's who we'll be able to
weed out."

City officials had originally proposed capping the number of
dispensaries at 12, a number they began moving away from this spring
as an idea to place a local tax on medical marijuana gained traction.
Sacramento voters will decide in November whether to place a 2 to 4
percent tax on medicinal pot.

Another proposal floated before the council would have allowed a
higher concentration of the facilities in midtown, but that was
scrapped as well. Advocates urged that the facilities be spread
throughout the city.

The option favored by the council as well as several medical
marijuana advocates makes the most sense both for existing
facilities and their patients, said Sarajane Sinclair, head of
SaraJane & Co. Cooperative Inc. in midtown.

"The patients should have options and the more options there are, the
better the prices will be and the ability for patients to get to the
locations will also be better," she said.

The debate over what to do with the city's dispensaries has been
contentious at times. But Tuesday night's council session was
downright festive, with the council voting unanimously to get behind
the proposed ordinance.

"Once we get situated here with what areas you can go in and what
restrictions you have, I think we're all going to get along just fine
and the people who need what you have are going to be able to access
it," Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy told the dispensary operators in the
council chambers.