OFFICIAL BACKS MARIJUANA OUTLET

Pleasanton: Councilman Studies Issue As Others Seek Ban on Medical Dispensaries

Pleasanton Councilman Matt Sullivan would like to make a medical
marijuana dispensary work in the Tri-Valley.

Sullivan convinced the City Council at its April 3 meeting to
postpone a decision on whether to enact a ban on dispensaries. Since
then, he has been doing research into how they affect the communities
that have them.

"The last time we looked at this, the staff presented all the horror
stories and the bad experiences," he said. "But I felt like there was
maybe another side of the story, where it has been successful."

Sullivan will present the findings of his research and ask other
council members to consider supporting a dispensary at the City
Council meeting on Tuesday.

"I would like to see if there is a way to make this available to
people in need in the Tri-Valley, in other ways than them having to
go to Oakland and Hayward," he said.

Police Chief Michael Fraser and City Attorney Michael Roush are
urging the council to adopt a ban, several months before the existing
moratorium is due to expire.

In their staff report, Fraser and Roush wrote about armed robberies,
burglaries, and vagrancy in other communities with marijuana
dispensaries. They also pointed to cases of dispensary patients or
others selling marijuana to people who aren't legally entitled to use it.

If the council adopts the ordinance, it would not prohibit those
qualified under state law from privately using medical marijuana.

Sullivan said he looked at reports from Americans for Safe Access, a
group that promotes safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic
use. He learned about communities, such as Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz
that have successful dispensaries.

"There is a lot of good information in there about other cities who
have good experiences with dispensaries that have strong
regulations," he said. "I think our community has more in common with
Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, which have had good experiences, and not Oakland."

Sullivan said Pleasanton should look at partnering with neighboring
communities or the county to run a pilot program.

"This is a public health issue," he said. "If everybody just banned
it, people in need are not going to get the help they need. "And the
people of the state of California said they wanted this to be made available."

Voters approved the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, making medical
marijuana legal for patients with a doctor's recommendation. SB420
established guidelines for distribution as well as an identification
card program.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the federal government's
power to enforce its drug laws, including a prohibition on marijuana.

Since then, about 20 cities, including Concord, Dublin, Pleasant
Hill, Antioch, Oakley, Pinole, Livermore, San Pablo and Hercules,
have banned dispensaries. Other cities have moratoriums in place
while they consider their next step.

Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, Martinez, Santa Rosa, San Jose, Santa
Cruz, San Francisco and Alameda Counties are among those that have
adopted regulations that allow dispensaries to operate.

Pleasanton extended its moratorium last summer so the council could
collect more information on the issue. Members sought details about
Alameda County's identification card program and the dispensaries
already operating in the county, whether all communities with
dispensaries had crime problems, and whether Pleasanton's needs for
medical marijuana were being met.

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: Pleasanton City Council meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Council chamber, 200 Old Bernal Avenue.