In exchange for placing a ban on the ballot, a majority of the council agreed in the interim to adopt stricter regulations on dispensaries that had been crafted during a lengthy series of time-consuming hearings in recent months.
Both items — the proposed ballot measure and the new regulations — will return to the council in the coming weeks for official approval, but it appears there is enough political support for the compromise.
“I do see some advantages to this as a stop-gap measure … if the people of Santa Barbara are given a chance by this council to decide if they want dispensaries at all,” Councilmember Dale Francisco said.
As part of the deal, the council tightened up the previously proposed regulations to allow only three permitted dispensaries in Santa Barbara, rather than five, and to require two dispensaries currently operating on the Eastside to relocate or close within a certain timeframe.
The compromise came after lengthy public testimony and a back-and-forth discussion between councilmembers as they grappled with their differing philosophies on the storefront dispensary model.
Francisco, whose ideology on the topic closely mirrors that of Councilmembers Frank Hotchkiss and Michael Self, said he doesn’t believe selling marijuana is legal in any form.
“This whole retail idea is crazy,” he said. “It was never contemplated by the voters. It is not allowable under state law.”
Citing quotes from one of the original backers of the Compassionate Use Act, which legalized medical marijuana for legitimate patients in California, Francisco said its clear that most dispensaries are little more than dope dealers with storefronts.
But others on the council — Das Williams being perhaps the most vocal example — argued that an outright ban would merely shift medical marijuana into an underground market.
“A ban is an illusion,” Williams said. “Just look in the newspaper in Ventura or San Luis Obispo. There are plenty of operations there.”
He added that regardless of their opinion on a ban, local residents should not be opposed to adopting stricter regulations for dispensaries, given the woeful inadequacy of the current laws on the books.
Williams also leveled a blistering criticism against those who have fought against the revised regulations, arguing that non-conforming dispensaries would have been shut down if not for delay tactics.
“It’s really offensive to me to be accused of not caring about children, of having nefarious purposes when we’ve been trying to shut down the non-conforming dispensaries or require them to get permitted under the new law for some time now,” he said.
The council had been on the brink of simply adopting the new laws last month, but Hotchkiss withdrew his crucial fifth vote after what he described as a significant public outcry from community leaders, including law enforcement, school officials and substance abuse recovery leaders.
Explaining his decision to pull his support for the regulations, the councilman said it is clear that most dispensaries are operating illegally.
“Any close reading of the state law makes it apparent they are outside the law, which is intended to permit those with medical needs to have access to marijuana and nothing more,” he said, adding later, “The closer I looked at this, the more I felt there’s just no way to do it right.”
In the spirit of a compromise, however, Francisco floated the idea of adopting a stricter ordinance while giving the voters the chance to decide on a ban this November.
Ultimately, six members of the council gave their support to that concept, with Councilmember Grant House in opposition. Those in favor noted that while the approach may not be perfect, it should finally break a stalemate on the issue of medical marijuana in Santa Barbara.
“The status quo isn’t working,” Mayor Helene Schneider said. “Everyone is fed up.”
The revised ordinance will likely return to the council next week for an official vote, while election materials related to a ban will take at least two weeks to craft and bring back to city leaders for approval.
Source: Daily Sound
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