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JackTheGrower
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Serious read...
Folks this is Nevada County! Gawd help us if they are subject to the "Marijuana Fears"
Serious read...
By David Mirhadi
Staff Writer
One day before Nevada City considers a moratorium on medicinal marijuana establishments within its borders, Nevada County supervisors will consider on Tuesday an ordinance prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county.
If approved, according to a staff report, the urgency ordinance would take effect immediately and be valid for 45 days. At least four of the five supervisors would need to vote for the urgency ordinance for it to pass.
The staff report indicates that “there is a current and immediate threat to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Nevada County” without an urgency ordinance.
The report indicates the county planning director will be responsible for crafting rules and regulations concerning the location and operation of such establishments.
Grass Valley recently placed a moratorium on such operations, and Nevada City on Wednesday faces the end of its 45-day moratorium. Three people have expressed an interest in running medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada City.
“I think there's a lot more to this than just the operation of dispensaries,” Penn Valley-area Supervisor Hank Weston said Sunday. “It's a quality of life issue. We need to ask ourselves, is it something that is needed in Nevada County?”
The nearest medical marijuana dispensary is in Colfax, about 12 miles away.
Weston said the moratorium will simply give the county a chance to craft policies it does not currently have. He said he was unaware of anyone wanting to place a dispensary in the unincorporated areas of Nevada County, which the supervisors govern and set policy for.
“I think it's a question of, where can it go?” Weston said of dispensaries. “Whose backyard doesn't want to be bothered?”
The county's staff report indicates that Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal urges the board to “take steps to ban these types of businesses within the unincorporated areas of Nevada County.”
The sheriff's recommendation, the staff report indicates, is supported by a five-year history of criminal activity in Nevada County related to marijuana activity.
Last month, Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell prepared a letter to county planners who requested comment on the establishment and operation of dispensaries in Nevada County.
In the seven-page letter, Newell advocates for caution when considering such establishments, which are legal under a narrow scope of guidelines under an initiative passed by California voters in 1996.
“Time is needed to study the many existing ordinances and assess the true needs of Nevada County residents with medical marijuana recommendations,” Newell wrote.
He also raised many questions, asking how many in Nevada County have medical marijuana recommendations, how many grow their own marijuana and the legality of the distribution of the marijuana for its intended purpose.
Newell's letter also notes the conflict with federal law, where it is a crime to possess, sell, distribute or transport marijuana of any kind, though Newell pointed out that the federal government has pledged not to target marijuana distributors who follow state laws allowing marijuana's use for specific purposes.
The county's staff report indicates other cities in California with established medical marijuana dispensaries “have at a minimum experienced an increase in crime, such as burglary, robbery and sales of illegal drugs,” a notion supported by a 2009 “white paper” on marijuana dispensaries produced by the California Police Chiefs Association task force.
Weston, who chairs the board of supervisors, said he's not sure how he's going to vote.
“I'm going to listen. I don't want to rush into this.”
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail [email protected] or call 477-4239.
Folks this is Nevada County! Gawd help us if they are subject to the "Marijuana Fears"