SR CRACKS DOWN ON POT CLUBS

Council Adopts Moratorium On New Dispensaries; Panel To Draft Strict
Regulations

Fearing that Santa Rosa could become the pot distribution center for all of
Sonoma County, the City Council on Tuesday halted the opening of new
medical marijuana dispensaries and said it would adopt a law to strictly
limit the three existing clubs.

Council members also said they were pursuing sanctions against Resource
Green Caregivers and Patients Group, a Sonoma Avenue club that has drawn
neighbor complaints about public smoking, heavy traffic and unruly conduct
by customers.

"I think we all realize there is a need for medical marijuana,"
Councilwoman Janet Condron said. "Unfortunately, that's been abused."

By a 5-0 vote, the council said it would form a committee comprised of
medical pot advocates, police, council members and residents to study the
situation and devise regulations saying where dispensaries can be located
and how they must operate.

The city doesn't currently have any laws governing pot clubs.

The panel is to report back within 60 days. At that time, the council could
adopt the restrictions or impose an outright ban on pot clubs.

"I have a concern that we're becoming the primary dispensary for the
county," Mayor Jane Bender said. "It really puts undue pressure on our
overworked police force."

The only other marijuana club in Sonoma County is in Guerneville.

Councilman Mike Martini, who left before the vote, called for an immediate
ban on pot clubs until a law could be adopted.

"Given what the police have discovered and what the neighbors have raised,
we should ask that the clubs cease activity until an ordinance is in
place," Martini said.

Councilman Steve Rabinowitsch was absent.

The council opted against an emergency ordinance that would have capped the
number of pot clubs at two and required the existing dispensaries to relocate.

The moratorium bars new clubs from opening during the next 45 days, with
the possibility of extensions.

It also creates a set of interim rules to answer neighbors' most frequent
complaints - prohibiting consumption of pot inside or within 150 feet of
clubs, limiting hours and forbidding customer loitering or harassment.

Ray Killion, a Resource Green neighbor and ardent critic of the club, said
he was pleased with the council action.

Killion said pot club customers routinely light up outside his door, block
his driveway and urinate behind nearby buildings. Dispensary owners have
done little to solve the problem, he said.

"I'm glad to see they're taking specific action against Resource Green,"
Killion said. "It's probably a good idea to take some time to craft a
thoughtful ordinance."

Resource Green workers declined to comment.

Doc Knapp of the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana agreed a deliberate
approach was needed.

However, Knapp said restrictions on on-site consumption of pot would be a
hardship for customers who don't have a convenient place to smoke.

"We have people we can bring to the table who I believe can come up with a
solution to this," Knapp told the council. "I don't think you'll get any
disagreement from the medical marijuana community that this is a very
serious issue."

While the ordinance is drafted, Santa Rosa will proceed with a nuisance
abatement action against Resource Green that could lead to sanctions
including closure, City Attorney Brien Farrell said.

The city has hired a private investigator and will review videotape made by
Killion that reportedly shows misbehavior by customers and employees,
Farrell said.

Bender said the pot club has cast a bad light on other medical marijuana
businesses, which must now work to improve their image.

"Resource Green has besmudged your reputation," Bender told an audience
that included several dozen pot advocates. "It really, truly is up to you
as an industry" to fix it.