Ventura pot shops up for discussion

[bigbrokush]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/ventura-pot-shops-up-for-discussion.html

Ventura pot shops up for discussion
July 12, 2010 | 11:07 am

After a year of study, Ventura City Council members will debate Monday night whether the seaside city should permit medical marijuana dispensaries within its borders.

City leaders have held two public meetings to gather residents' views on the controversial issue. Ventura would become the first city in Ventura County to allow legal distribution of medicinal pot if the council gives its approval.

The town halls were packed with a largely supportive audience that wanted the go-ahead to form patient-run cooperatives or collectives. But county Dist. Atty. Gregory Totten, Ventura law enforcement and at least one school board trustee have voiced strong opposition, citing concerns about increased crime and greater access to the drug by children.

In a staff report, the council was presented with several options, from adopting land-use regulations that make room for dispensaries to doing nothing at all. The council also could decide to wait for the outcome of November's statewide marijuana legalization measure.

A moratorium on dispensaries and collectives is set to expire Sept. 3.

-- Catherine Saillant

 

[vta]

Lets go Ventura!

 

[vta]

http://www.cityofventura.net/files/file/meetings/city_council/07-12-10/item 06.pdf

link to PDF by the City Attorney. Lots of BS propaganda in there.

 

[vta]

watch LIVE NOW

http://cityofventura.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&event_id=52

 

[venturablaze]

hell ya ventura ftw.

 

[vta]

Well they are extending the moratorium for another year.

There are 3 members on the counsel that want an all out ban. one being the ex police chief.

The current police chief had lots of great bs to feed them along with half truths. Example:. He told them that the Santa Barbara City Counsel is going to put a measure on the next ballot to ban all clubs in the city. What he didn't tell them is that they are also going to put up a measure to allow a certain number...they are letting the people decide.

One thing for sure is that the counsel is all ready to make money off legal pot if prop 19 passes. The 'tax income' subject came up a few times. The city manager kept on emphasizing tax income and he excitedly pointed out that they could write an ordnance for local business in a couple months after prop 19 passes.

Bottom line....fuk the sick...but if prop 19 passes, were rich bitch.

 

[vta]

The city manager kept on emphasizing tax income and he excitedly pointed out that they could write an ordnance for local business in a couple months after prop 19 passes.

I am going to write all these guys and point out this comment. Then ask why can't the douche write up an MMJ ordnance.

 

[venturablaze]

danm, i was really hoping for progress, but o well. I really wished they could get more community support and opinion on mmj side, it's like everyone is fighting against mmj instead of for it.

Lets just hope prop 19 passes and all of california becomes pot freindly.

 

[JackTheGrower]

I see the pattern.. Tax2010 fails and they put the lid on the Pot with restrictions.

How do delivery services work?

Can they ban them?

GO BLACK-MARKET GO!

 

[vta]

Ventura rejects medical marijuana cooperatives

Ventura rejects medical marijuana cooperatives

By Joshua Molina Correspondent
Ventura County Star


The Ventura City Council rejected the idea and instead extended an existing moratorium on such establishments, pending the outcome of a November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in California.

The vote was 5-2, with Deputy Mayor Mike Tracy and Councilman Jim Monahan opposing. They wanted a permanent ban on marijuana cooperatives.

The council, along with the city attorney and city manager, said approving medical marijuana cooperatives would open the floodgates for illegal resale of the drug, increase crime and become a costly financial burden on the city. It is nearly impossible, they said, to draw a distinction between a cooperative that sells to sick people and a for-profit business that sells marijuana to anybody.

“We simply are not capable without substantial fees to enter into the process of distinguishing legitimate medicinal marijuana cooperatives from the for-profit dispensaries,” said City Manager Rick Cole. “To take on a major, groundbreaking initiative in this fiscal year is challenging.”

A slew of law enforcement officials spoke in opposition of allowing medical marijuana cooperatives. The establishments often act as fronts for illegal marijuana outfits where the drug is sold to people without medical needs, they said.

“Many storefront distribution centers simply serve as a cover for the sale of marijuana to healthy people,” said Greg Brose, chief deputy district attorney in Ventura County. “From the standpoint of drafting the ordinance it is difficult. From the standpoint of enforcing the ordinance, it is extremely difficult.”

Brose said he doesn’t know of a single successful medical marijuana cooperative anywhere.

Officials also said that marijuana cooperatives often become havens for crime. Several officials pointed to the city of Santa Barbara, which has approved three cooperatives within the city limits, as a model for what to avoid.

“Their narcotics division spends a majority of their time dealing with illegal dispensaries,” Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney told the council. He said one Santa Barbara dispensary has more than 13,000 clients.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, also slammed Santa Barbara, saying the city had no quality controls on what was being purchased and warned the council not to follow its path.

“Ventura doesn’t want to be in the position of being a Mecca for marijuana dispensaries, as Santa Barbara is now,” Nava said.

But members of the public expressed a different opinion. They said it was immoral and heartless for the council to reject legal cooperatives. Not only do sick people need a legal place to purchase marijuana, but the city could benefit financially from taxing the drug.

A majority of Ventura voters embraced Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which permits patients to legally use medicinal marijuana in California.

“I do believe there is a way to do it legally and raise revenues for our city,” said resident Berta Steele. “I don’t think we will become the Mecca. I think we can control it. It’s an opportunity to explore the issue and make it work.”

But city officials said pursuing medical marijuana cooperatives was an idea full of pitfalls.

Cole called the proposal “extraordinarily thorny” and “land mine-ridden,” coming at a time of severe budget cuts.

“It’s not impossible, but I can’t imagine us doing it well,” Cole said.

Other members of the council were flat out against marijuana cooperatives, now or in the future.

“Selling marijuana in storefronts is not in the best interests of Ventura County residents,” said Councilwoman Christy Weir