MEDICAL POT NEED TO BE GAUGED

Pleasanton: City to Ask Alameda County to Participate in Blind Survey
to Address Issue in a Regional Manner

Tasked with determining the community's need for medical marijuana
and whether that need is being met, the Pleasanton Human Services
Commission has asked the city staff to approach Alameda County about
being part of a blind survey of medical marijuana ID card holders.

After meeting for the first time last week, commission members also
asked the city staff to form a task force with medical marijuana
users, health care providers and city officials from Pleasanton,
Dublin and Livermore to address the issue in a regional manner.

"I think it warrants further study," commissioner Laura Olson said.
"I think there is some sort of need, and we would be remiss in not
taking a look at it."

The health services commission heard public testimony last week that
both supported and opposed a medical marijuana dispensary in town.

Even though the Pleasanton City Council in early June adopted a ban
on marijuana dispensaries in the city, a majority of the council
asked the commission to discuss community need for the drug.

Dublin adopted a ban on dispensaries last year, and Livermore's
moratorium on dispensaries will expire this fall.

Given medical privacy laws, city officials know the county will not
give out personal information on medical marijuana ID holders. But
Pleasanton hopes the county will agree to send a letter to or call
card holders in Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton, asking them to
participate in a need-assessment survey.

If the county does not agree to participate in a blind survey, the
commission has asked the city staff to hire a consultant who can
oversee a phone or mail survey for Pleasanton, with or without
including Dublin and Livermore.

The commission expects to meet several times on the issue before it
makes a recommendation to the City Council.

Commission members acknowledge that quantifying the community need
for medical marijuana will be a tough task.

Assistant Pleasanton City Attorney Larissa Seto noted that given the
difficulty of getting actual numbers of medical marijuana users, the
commission will need to be open to anecdotal information.

At its Aug. 1 meeting, the commission agreed to listen to a
presentation by a group representing Oakland resident Todd Rogers,
who runs Alternative Medical Services and who had attempted to open a
dispensary in Stockton before that city adopted a ban.

Kat Eisenman, who works in patient services and the front desk at a
medical marijuana dispensary in Hayward, told the commission she
conducted an informal survey of patients and determined that about
one-third are coming from the Tri-Valley and Central Valley.

"They come from all walks of life and all ages," she said. "These
people are a true representation of our community."

Of the 4,515 patients Eisenman spoke with, she noted that 56 were
from Pleasanton, 42 were from Dublin, 39 from San Ramon and 73 from Livermore.

Livermore resident George Wilson, who has a medical marijuana ID
card, spoke to the commission. He cautioned members against expecting
to compile complete numbers.

"For every one of these cards, there are 25 people who have a
doctor's recommendation and are afraid of the card, and of that 25,
there are probably 100 more who are afraid of registering with a
doctor," Wilson said. "Whatever number you come up with, that is just
the decimate of what it actually is."

County officials have said the distribution of cards is proportional
to population. Using that information, Pleasanton has determined that
of the 1,349 medical marijuana ID cards issued through May, about 61
were issued to Pleasanton residents.

California voters approved Proposition 215, which legalized medical
marijuana for seriously ill patients, in 1996. Federal law, however,
prohibits any use or sale of marijuana.

Other Bay Area cities with bans on dispensaries include Concord,
Dublin, Pleasanton Hill, Antioch, Oakley, Pinole, San Pablo and Hercules.