DIXON SAYS NO TO DISPENSARIES

The subject of medical marijuana lit a fire under concerned citizens
Tuesday night, bringing forth impassioned statements both for and
against siting a dispensary in Dixon.

Following more than four hours of testimony and debate, the City
Council finally came to a decision.

In a 3-2 vote, the council upheld the city's current ordinance, which
bans the issuance of permits and licenses to such dispensaries hoping
to operate within the city and surrounding areas. Councilman Dane
Besneatte and Vice Mayor Michael Ceremello were the dissenters.

Originally discussed in 2004, an ordinance allowing the operation of
medical marijuana dispensaries with a permit was subsequently passed.
In 2009, that ordinance was overturned. In late 2010, the matter came
back before the council.

Speaking on behalf of Solano County District Attorney Don DuBain on
Tuesday, John Daugherty stated the office's stance on the matter.

"It is our belief that medical marijuana dispensaries are not
lawful," the chief deputy district attorney said. Though the state
provides for lawful means to get medical marijuana he explained, the
DA's office does not consider "storefront" dispensaries to be legal.

Dr. Tamu Nolfo, a Sacramento resident with ties to Solano, said
statistics show that as access to marijuana rises, so does youth
marijuana usage. She also pointed out that lawful dispensaries
generally do not profit from their services.

"So you can't really look at this as a revenue source for the
community," she said.

For Bessie Miller, the city's 2010 recipient of the Living Legacy
Award, the issue was one of community. Delivering a petition signed
by more than 300 residents, she announced that it was "a simple
showing that several of your citizens feel very strongly" about
banning dispensaries.

"The signers are not just my family, my seniors, my friends, my
neighbors," she said. "They are people from all over town."

Many more residents shared fears of increased crime and costs to
combat that crime should such a facility be allowed within Dixon.
Still others worried what would happen should the opposite occur.

Caleb Counts of Sacramento, who operates a similar dispensary in that
jurisdiction, said more than 200 clients are from Dixon. A local
dispensary, he added, would allow them easier access to medical marijuana.

Dixon resident Scott Pederson agreed.

Suffering from an aneurysm and a skull fracture, the 23-year-old
emphasized that medical marijuana dulls his pain and keeps him from
popping prescription pills such as oxycontin and morphine.

"You cannot eat, you cannot sleep, you're actually an empty shell,"
he said of the effects of the pills. The marijuana, he added,
actually allows him to function normally.

The council also shared opposing views.

"The law is the law and the law in the state of California is that
medical marijuana is allowed," stressed Besneatte.

Fellow Councilman Thom Bogue interpreted the law as one of choice.

"The law says we have a choice for whatever we want to do in our
jurisdiction," he said.

Ceremello talked of freedom of choice.

"This isn't about the majority's ability to say that they can dictate
what the minority can or can't do," he said. "That's what the
Constitution was put in place to protect."