Skeptical MAC delays action on medical marijuana changes

Alameda County
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A skeptical Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) discussed an update to the Alameda County General Code on Monday that would increase the number of medical marijuana dispensaries allowed in the unincorporated areas of Alameda County from three to six, reduce the buffer zones around dispensaries, and refer to it as “cannabis” rather than “marijuana.”

This draft ordinance on medical cannabis dispensaries came before the MAC and the Unincorporated Services meetings in June, the Agriculture Advisory Meeting in July, and came back to MAC with an audience of about 50 people.

BERKELEY, CA - MARCH 25: One-ounce bags of medicinal marijuana are displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group March 25, 2010 in Berkeley, California. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified a ballot initiative late Wednesday to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana in the State of California after proponents of the measure submitted over 690,000 signatures. The measure will appear on the November 2 general election ballot. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Proposed Changes in Ordinances

According to a summary by County Counsel and the Community Development Agency, the proposed ordinance would:

  • Increase the number of dispensaries allowed in the unincorporated area from three to six. A maximum of four of these can be in the Western portion (which includes Castro Valley) and two in the Eastern Area.
  • Allow the unlimited delivery of medical cannabis
  • Remove the 20 pound limit on storage for dispensaries.
  • Allow cultivation, as long as it is by one of the existing dispensaries.
  • Allow the sale of edibles, as long as they are manufactured according to health code requirements (and it must be produced in a commercial facility).
  • Reduce the buffer zone between the dispensaries and “sensitive receptors” (e.g. schools) from 1000 feet to 600 feet.
600 feet "buffer zones" for the West County unincorporated communities.
600 feet “buffer zones” for the West County unincorporated communities.

The Alameda County Sheriff Department is opposed to all of these changes. Sgt. Bret Scheuller of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office stated that this ordinance is “industry driven, and not community driven.”

Is it “Marijuana” or “Cannabis”?
The ordinance would also change the word that Alameda County uses to describe what is being regulated, revising the General Code to use the term “cannabis” rather than “marijuana.”  According to an article in High Times, “Marijuana is what prohibition supporters called cannabis as they sought to demonize its use and criminalize its consumers.” Further, it writes:

Frankly, the argument for legalization is best advanced using the terminology that is most familiar to the public. It is most important, these days, to change the laws. Changing the terminology, though, should be considered another important obligation for the advocates and supporters of legalization. Cannabis is an elegant botanical compound. Cannabis rules: Call things by their right name. It’s a matter of respect. And history.

Public Comment
Following the staff presentation, five people spoke in favor of the new ordinance, and seven people spoke against it. Most of the arguments in favor of the ordinance focused on the health benefits of medical marijuana.

The arguments against the ordinance challenged the health benefits, questioned the need for this, and asked why this ordinance needs to be updated right now and so quickly.  Many questioned the need to update an ordinance without knowing the impact of the possible legalization of recreational marijuana with the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative (Proposition 64) on the November ballot.

A recent Orange County Register article was cited that discussed how legalizing recreational use of Marijuana might affect medical marijuana patients.  Some of the speakers pointed out that a new Harborside location is opening soon in San Leandro and that there are currently over 100 local companies in the area that deliver medical marijuana to people’s doorsteps.

MAC Discussion
The questions by the MAC members regarding the ordinance included:

  • Chuck Moore asked, “Why is this needed? Will people not drive? Are the two dispensaries that are currently open too busy?”
  • MAC Chair Marc Crawford was concerned that the ordinance would only allow the two current dispensaries the ability to cultivate marijuana in the Unincorporated Area. He questioned the intent that encouraged a virtual monopoly between the two dispensaries.

The MAC also addressed the process for the implementation of the new ordinances, particularly how it related to the timing of Proposition 64.

  • Linda Tangren pointed out that there is a State of California law that will take effect in 2018, and much of this ordinance is included in this law, so she asked why the ordinance is needed now.
  • MAC Vice Chair Ken Carbone suggested that the County should hold a series of workshops that includes the public, the industry and county staff, as is typical for a redraft of an ordinance. He also suggested that the ordinance should be divided into parts and discussed separately.
  • Crawford said that he was very concerned with the timeline and said that in 20 years of following these things, it is rare for something to be this fast-tracked. He suggested that the County should wait until November, after the fate of Proposition 64 is known, and that the County should hold a series of workshops that would include the stakeholders, not structured hearings like Monday’s meeting.

Meeting Outcomes and Next Steps

meeting-schedule
The MAC did not make a resolution, nor vote on the ordinance.

The ordinance will go to a series of other county meetings for presentation and public comment, and ultimately to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors for the final decision. There will be another presentation to the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association on Thursday, September 15.

According to timeline in the meeting packet and on the Community Development Agency website, the Supervisors are expected to act on the ordinance on November 22 with the changes going into effect on December 23.

Michael Kusiak contributed to this post.

Thanks Colin. I look forward to meeting you and talking about this.

I do believe that the community would be well served by having a series of workshops. This would allow people in the community to meet you, hear your concerns, and have a chance to reach a resolution that is community driven.

The Washington Times
American Legion asks Congress for new marijuana laws
By Andrew Blake – The Washington Times – Friday, September 9, 2016
The American Legion has formally asked Congress to recognize the potential medical value of marijuana on behalf of the millions of U.S. military veterans who could benefit by seeing cannabis reclassified by the federal government.
The veterans group, which boasts a membership of roughly 2.4 million active and former members of the U.S. military, passed a resolution at its 98th annual convention last week in Cincinnati urging federal lawmakers to reclassify marijuana and eliminate other obstacles currently hindering medical research involving the plant.
Specifically the resolution calls on Congress to “amend legislation to remove marijuana from schedule I and reclassify it in a category that, at a minimum will recognize cannabis as a drug with potential medical value.” Additionally, the resolution urges the Drug Enforcement Agency to license privately-funded businesses nationwide to pot plants and conduct medical research without risking legal repercussions.
The resolution was passed a month after the DEA said it won’t reclassify marijuana from its current standing as a Schedule I drug, a category reserved for substances with zero medical value which also currently includes drugs including heroin and ecstasy.
According to some proponents of medical marijuana, however, the plant has proven to be largely successful with respect to relieving the symptoms of traumatic brain injuries as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, a diagnosis handed down to nearly one-third of Vietnam War veterans, and about one-fifth of those who served in the Iraq War, per the government’s own accounting.
By reclassifying cannabis, currently restrictions that limit research would be removed and a new wave of testing may be able to lend credence to those who say the plant poses medical benefits.
Dr. Sue Sisley, a researcher involved in the first federally-approved study to investigate the potential benefits of treating PTSD with pot, applauded the American Legion’s latest effort in an interview this week with Marijuana.com, where the resolution was first reported.
“I consider this a major breakthrough for such a conservative veterans organization,” she told the website. “Suddenly the American Legion has a tangible policy statement on cannabis that will allow them to lobby and add this to their core legislative agenda. The organization has a massive amount of influence at all levels.”
Dr. Sisley, speaking at the group’s conference in Cincinnati, said that veterans are “exhausted and feel like guinea pigs” and are “getting desperate” because traditional treatments are proving to be unsuccessful, the website reported.
Half of the states in the U.S. have passed medicinal marijuana laws during the past 20 years, and four states and D.C. have approved measures allowing recreational marijuana use since 2012.
Voters in four states will be asked to consider establishing medicinal marijuana programs during the general election in November, while another five weigh whether to legalize recreational use.

Hi Bob.

I understand what you are saying, but this ordinance does not debate the efficacy of Medical Marijuana. This ordinance expands the scope and reach of a few businesses, and that is what is being discussed. a debate about the usefulness of Medical Marijuana is not what is happening here.

Hi Peter,
This issue requires understanding of medical cannabis which you appear to understand. Many don’t!

Positive information regarding medical cannabis helps overcome the negative misinformation campaign started in 1937 and certainly affects us today. Factual information removes the darkness created by misleading propaganda.
Bob

East Bay Times – Sunday, September 18, 2016
Medical marijuana helps with opioid addiction, study says
By Christopher Ingraham
Washington Post
After states pass laws permitting medical marijuana, drivers in those states become less likely to test positive for opioids after fatal car accidents, a new study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health has found.
Researchers analyzed federal crash data in 18 states over the period from 1999 to 2013.
States that passed a medical marijuana law during this period saw a reduction in opioid involvement in fatal car accidents, relative to states without such a law.
The reduction was greatest among drivers aged 21 to 40, the age group most likely to use medical marijuana where it’s available.
“We would expect the adverse consequences of opioid use to decrease over time in states where medical marijuana use is legal, as individuals substitute marijuana for opioids in the treatment of severe or chronic pain,” said June H. Kim, a doctoral student at the Mailman School of Public Health, and the study’s lead author, in a press release.
The study, published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, is the first to look at the relationship between medical marijuana laws and individual- level laboratory measurements of opioid use. The results suggest a fairly straightforward conclusion that “in states with medical marijuana laws, fewer individuals are using opioids,” the authors write.
It adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic pain patients may substitute marijuana for prescription painkillers in states where the option is available.
One paper published earlier this year found that Medicare Part D prescriptions for painkillers declined significantly in states that passed medical marijuana laws.
Other studies have shown that medical marijuana states see fewer painkiller overdose deaths than states without medical pot, and that access to medical marijuana dispensaries is also linked to declining rates of opiate overdose and death.
In a sign some drugmakers might be worried about marijuana’s impact, the company behind the powerful painkiller fentanyl recently poured half a million dollars into the campaign opposing full marijuana legalization in Arizona, one of the biggest-ever single donations to an anti-legalization cause. Medical marijuana is currently legal, with varying degrees of restriction, in 25 states plus the District of Columbia. Still, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration earlier this year refused to relax restrictions on marijuana, claiming that the drug has no medically accepted use.

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