OK FOR POT IN THE PARK KEEPS SANTA CRUZ WEIRD

SMOKING BAN LIFTED FOR ONE DAY

It's a story that virtually begs for the "only-in-Santa-Cruz"
eye-roll treatment - another item in a wave of wackiness over the
years that has painted the beach town, fairly or not, as nuttier than
a bowl of granola.

Only this time, it might actually be true - the "only-in-Santa-Cruz"
part, at least.

That's because two cherished progressive ideals - smoking bans and
medicinal marijuana - have collided in a cloud of, well, smoke.

The city last year banned smoking in two city parks, citing the
threat to public health. The city also is on record in support of the
local group that distributes medicinal marijuana. That group's annual
festival is coming up - noon to 5 p.m., Sept. 29 - and some of the
members might need to "medicate" during the festivities.

The problem: The festival is in San Lorenzo Park, one of the parks
with a no-smoking ban.

The solution? Rescind the law for a day. The city passed a unanimous
resolution last week to do just that.

But wait, don't pack the bong in the backpack just yet.

"This is not Golden Gate Park, and it's not 1964," said Valerie
Corral, co-founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana.
"It's not going to be a big smoke-out."

Small Smoking Tent

She said the festival - meant to be a celebration of the support the
group has received - will be a no-smoking event. A small tent will be
set up for WAMM members to repair to if they need to partake. Others
who light up - either tobacco or grass - will be asked to put it out.

"This event has very little to do with smoking and very much to do
with thanking the community," Corral said. There will be food vendors
and music, and admission is free.

Corral added, "We wanted to go through the system to get the approval
to let our members medicate if they need to."

She acknowledged that those who don't know much about WAMM might
think it's a scam to get around marijuana laws. But WAMM doesn't buy
or sell marijuana; it grows and distributes it for free to its 250
members - 80 percent of whom, Corral said, are terminally ill.

Lenient Attitude

Santa Cruz police spokesman Zach Friend said there will be no special
patrols for the festival. That's probably not surprising, given that
city voters in 2006 directed the police to treat pot smoking as its
lowest enforcement priority.

Which begs the question: If a pot smoker and a cigarette smoker were
caught puffing in a park, who would be cited?

"Both," Friend said. "It's an ordinance against smoking, period."

As for the dangers of second-hand smoking to festival-goers, that's
what the tent is for. It will be constructed so the smoke is
ventilated up and away from the crowd - to the dismay of some, perhaps.