PROPOSALS IN FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES IN EUREKA

Twenty-four proposals from applicants vying for a chance to open a
medical marijuana distribution or processing facility in Eureka were
submitted to city hall by Friday's deadline.

A few of the applicants are familiar to medical cannabis patients in
Arcata, including The Humboldt Community Cooperative and the Humboldt
Patient Resource Center. The Hummingbird Healing Center, previously
located just outside of Eureka, also applied for both types of
conditional use permits. There are also some out-of-town names
applying -- Grandmom Rose's Health Center was proposed by the Ocean
City Animal League from New Jersey for cultivation and
distribution.

The Eureka City Council passed a medical marijuana ordinance that went
into effect Sept. 3, allowing a limited number of medical marijuana
dispensaries and processing facilities in the city. It was modeled
after Arcata's ordinance, implementing a land-use based approach that
also regulates personal patient gardens.

Opening either type of commercial facility requires a conditional use
permit. Due to a limit set in the city ordinance, there can be only
six. Four of those permits will be for processing and cultivation
facilities, which can each have two dispensaries. The other two
permits would be for dispensaries that stock cannabis not processed or
grown in Eureka.

To decide who gets to operate the limited number of facilities
available, the council appointed three people to the Medical Cannabis
Selection Subcommittee, former councilmen Larry Glass and Jeff Leonard
and attorney Paul Hagen. They created a request for qualifications,
which is a list of desired criteria, for those interested. The
original deadline was Dec. 3, but was extended to Dec. 17.

Community Development Director Sidnie Olson said she received 24
responses by the end of the day on Friday. About 40 people had signed
up to receive the request, and it was also available on the city's
website. She said she received the "full gamut" of proposal types and
formats.

"I'm getting a little bit of everything," Olson said
Friday.

Olson said she would be holding on to the proposals until it is
decided what the selection committee will do.

Leonard will be presenting information on the medical marijuana
ordinance and the selection committee at the council's next meeting on
Tuesday. It will be up to the council to decide if the selection
committee can continue as is or if new members should be appointed.
Leonard said he will likely recommend council members expand the
committee to better review the proposals.

Glass and Leonard both said they are interested in staying on the
committee.

The committee was set up to ensure the limited number of facilities
allowed in Eureka are opened with the best plans available and not
just on a first-come, first-serve basis, Leonard said. It will also
help to ensure that whoever opens a facility will be "someone we can
trust to run the business in an appropriate manner," Leonard said.

Olson said that the one remaining task before selection can begin is
to set up a point system for the criteria in each proposal so the
selection process can be "as completely unbiased as possible."