First for the Good:
During the meeting that took place November 10, 2009 one item that came up in the discussion was the proposed access that the police would have to the surveillance videos. Without a search warrant, subpoena or court order. The part about the police getting it without the proper legal means (search warrant, subpoena or court order) has been removed from the revised draft. This was an item of concern for some owners of the collectives on hand.
Another item that shared even more concern was the turning over of the patient list to the city without a search warrant, subpoena or court order. In the revised document that has been completely removed and now it would be the responsibility of the collective to keep that information, available for review at the location, for 5-years.
Now for the Bad:
Distance from schools has been increased from 1000' to 1500'.
"The Medical Marijuana Collective is not located within a one thousand five hundred foot (1,500) radius of a school."
I'm not quite sure what happened to the compassionate part but I guess a person that has a hard time walking or pushing their wheelchair is going to find that such a great help to know they have to travel 500' further.
With the following item, some families are going to have to close up shop even though they have been decent human beings and neighbors and will become another statistic in our unemployment rate.
"The Medical Marijuana Collective is not located within a one
thousand foot (1,000') radius of a state licensed child care facility, playground, youth center or other Medical Marijuana Collective."
thousand foot (1,000') radius of a state licensed child care facility, playground, youth center or other Medical Marijuana Collective."
What other business, such as a pharmacy or a bar, has distance limits made on how far they can be from another competitor? This is a simple matter of supply and demand. If an area gets saturated with collectives then once the patient demand is met anyone else that tries to open up will most likely fail or they may put someone else out of business. So this 1000' from collective to collective is only because it's "marijuana". No, people...it's "MEDICINE" it is "LIFE". For those that suffer from Cancer, AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Bipolar Disorder and other debilitating conditions one thing we have in common is that we are all suffering.
Just Ugly:
"No manufacture of Concentrated Cannabis in violation of California Health and Safety Code Section 11379.6 is allowed"
Section 11379.6 when read, sounds like laws that should be applicable to meth labs and coke factories. All that is happening here is the medicine is being separated from the plant. I know some patients who are in severe pain and need that extra bit of relief. They depend on things like this....once again, where is the compassion?
"Medical Mariiuana Collective membership, established pursuant to this Chapter, shall be limited to one Collective fully permitted in accordance with this Chapter.
In other words patients can only be a member of ONE collective. This is a completely disservice to patients due to the fact that there are hundreds of medical marijuana strains available, each having their unique benefits to the individuals. Perhaps in a perfect world this would work just fine, but we don't live in a perfect world. So lets just accept that and try being more realistic.
"Nothing in this Chapter purports to permit activities that are otherwise
illegal under federal, state, or local law."
That part about illegal under federal law basically nullifies the entire draft ordinance that Mr. Shannon so meticulously worked on. I'm sure there is an explanation on this or perhaps it just needs to be reworded. We'll find out all these things and more on Tuesday January 19, 2010 at the Long Beach City Council meeting.
Click Here to view a copy of the 2nd draft of the medical marijuana ordinance as prepared by City Attorney Robert E. Shannon.
Article By: Doc Herbalist
docherbalist@gmail.com
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