BOARD RECOMMENDS NOT ALLOWING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN WILDOMAR

Wildomar planning commissioners voted Wednesday to recommend that the
City Council continue to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

Commissioners said they had uncertainty about the results of a
statewide proposition that would make marijuana legal for people older
than 21.

The commission voted 3-2, with Harv Dykstra and Michael Kazmier
dissenting, to recommend the council vote down a proposed law allowing
dispensaries.

The commission has the power only to suggest whether the city should
lift its 2-year-old ban on storefront marijuana facilities. It is now
left to the City Council to decide whether to allow nonprofit
dispensaries.

Just one city in Riverside County allows them: Palm
Springs.

Wildomar's proposed law is modeled after a code used by the city of
Laguna Woods in Orange County. It would allow dispensaries in
commercial zones, away from schools and parks. It would not put a cap
on the number of dispensaries.

Several commissioners recommended Wednesday that if the city allows
dispensaries, it limit the number to two.

The council could alter the law if it approves the measure. Planning
Director David Hogan said the council could take up the matter during
its second meeting in September.

In an occasionally raucous meeting, advocates and opponents cheered
and jeered speakers. About 35 people spoke, about 20 of them against
dispensaries.

Opponents contended that allowing dispensaries would increase crime.
Several shared personal stories about relatives who had struggled with
drug addiction.

Tim Walker said he moved out of Los Angeles 30 years ago "to get away
from this stuff."

"I don't understand how we could get to this point in this community,"
Walker said. "We need to make a stand because this is a conservative
area and it needs to stay that way."

They also repeatedly criticized those speaking in favor as profiteers
from other cities concerned only with opening businesses in Wildomar.

Many of those in favor were affiliates with already-existing private
collectives or delivery services. The ordinance being considered would
allow only nonprofit dispensaries.

Carlos Stahl has battled with Lake Elsinore over an unlicensed
dispensary he runs there called R Side Medical. He told the commission
he believed he was within his rights under state law and planned to
open a location in Wildomar "whether this commission approves it or
doesn't approve it."

"The people have spoken," Stahl, of Lakeland Village, said of medical
marijuana. "This is nothing new. This is the majority."