Medical marijuana continues to be a hot topic for San Diegans

By Margie Palmer | SDUN Reporter

Tensions surrounding the issue of medical marijuana and the legality of dispensaries that sell it remain high within the city of San Diego, with many residents questioning which side is holding the bag.

In late March, members of the City Council voted 5-2 to implement zoning restrictions on dispensaries, confining them to commercial and light-industrial areas of the city. The measure further stipulated that facilities selling medicinal marijuana would be required to be located at least 600 feet from homes.

Opponents of the zoning restrictions, who said sick patients would suffer in having to drive to outlying areas of the city in order to fill prescriptions, quickly mobilized. In less than two months after the City Council’s vote, over 44,000 petition signatures were gathered, forcing the City Council to either repeal their decision or put the matter before voters. The Council moved to repeal, citing a desire to avoid spending approximately $2.5 million to hold a special election. Even spending the estimated $840,000 to put the issue on the June 2012 ballot, they said, just didn’t make sense in light of the city’s current budget situation.

Since that time, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith moved forward with mandating the closure of a number of dispensaries, including several in Uptown. Goldsmith said the City’s Development Services Department determined the dispensaries failed to meet zoning requirements.

“Marijuana advocates and their lawyers have been wrong to assume that federal and local laws could be ignored and that cities like San Diego could be strong-armed into looking the other way,” Goldsmith said in a statement.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager agreed that dispensaries are prohibited by zone.

“The municipal code does not permit the operation of marijuana dispensaries in any zone in the City of San Diego,” Prager wrote in an Oct. 18 ruling.

Goldsmith said that approximately 40 illegal marijuana dispensaries have been shut down in the past 12 months, “but we have a lot more work to do,” he said.

In a letter sent to dispensaries that Goldsmith’s office is seeking to close, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions could be brought against them should they fail to comply.

“Real and personal property involved in [the sale if illegal drugs] are subject to seizure by and forfeiture to the United States,” Duffy wrote, also noting that landlords who rent to marijuana facilities are in danger of losing their buildings.

It is expected similar letters will be sent to most, if not all, of the approximately 180 dispensaries operating in San Diego.

One North Park resident, who wished her name be withheld due to pending litigation against a family member for operating a facility that legally grew marijuana for dispensaries, said the City Attorney’s actions are an insult to “the 44,000 petitioners who wanted the exact opposite of what Goldsmith is doing.”

“So what if medical marijuana doesn’t fall into existing zoning laws?” she said. “Legal medical marijuana patients in San Diego have a right to access their medicine, and it’s not fair to make an elderly cancer patient from La Jolla to drive into East County to obtain it.”

On Nov. 8, members of local youth groups, such as Critical Voice and the Latino Youth Council, as well as local parents gathered at the Grace Lutheran Church in Hillcrest to thank Goldsmith and Duffy for their actions. Neither were present at the gathering.

Scott Chipman, chair of the San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, said at the event, “Its my pleasure to be here today and to add my voice to a chorus of grateful San Diegans who commend City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy for working together to rid our neighborhoods of these illegal and unethical businesses.” He added, “Their commitment to doing the right thing is much appreciated.”

Chipman also said, “People just don’t feel safe when there is a marijuana retailer around the corner from their homes, near their child’s school or playground, where they shop or in the same business building as their own business.”

Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland-based nonprofit that works to protect the rights of patients to use medicinal marijuana, announced Nov. 7 a lawsuit seeking to halt the recent crackdown on dispensary operation.