cannabisnews.com: Commission To Begin Exploring Marijuana Ordinance





Commission To Begin Exploring Marijuana Ordinance
Posted by CN Staff on April 12, 2005 at 09:35:32 PT
By David Edwards, The Daily Journal
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
Ukiah, California -- The Ukiah Planning Commission will conduct a combination workshop and public hearing Wednesday about the city's groundbreaking marijuana ordinance.It appears the U.S. Supreme Court is in no hurry to steal the spotlight from Ukiah, either. Justices have yet to render a decision in a Bay Area pot case, Raich v. Ashcroft, that could affect the ordinance, depending on the court's ruling.
So absent a ruling, planning commissioners will take the community's pulse on several key provisions of the ordinance. City Attorney David Rapport, who wrote the ordinance, will attend and join in the discussion.The current text would limit growers in residential areas to six plants. In addition, the property owner must qualify as a medical-marijuana patient, and the plants must be in a secure indoor location.Growers who choose a commercial zone could cultivate up to 12 immature and six mature plants. They too would be restricted to growing indoors. According to the city planning staff's report to commissioners, the purpose of Wednesday's session is "to review the draft ordinance, discuss the issues, gather information, and develop direction for staff."City planners don't anticipate an immediate recommendation from the Planning Commission to the City Council, the report states. Staff has suggested the commissioners hold the workshop and hearing, issue directives to staff, and address the ordinance again at the April 27 meeting.The staff report lists eight issues for discussion, including the possibility of letting outdoor marijuana cultivation continue, odor complaints, and limitations on where marijuana may be grown within the city limits."A challenging discussion is whether ... indoor growing would deter theft attempts or entice potentially more violent home-invasion theft attempts," the staff report states.Dane Wilkins, executive director of the local chapter of the National Organizaton for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has discussed the ordinance with city officials. He said their collaboration has produced no changes in the ordinance so far.The staff report mentions several points Wilkins has asked the city to consider, though."The primary concern is forcing' the cultivation of marijuana indoors," the report notes, "which NORML believes would (increase electricity usage), create unhealthy indoor environments, and create fire-safety issues."Local growers who have spoken with The Ukiah Daily Journal shared contradictory opinions as to whether those concerns are justified. However, Bernie Ziemianek, the public utilities director in Ukiah, volunteered some anecdotal evidence supporting the fire-safety concerns.A few months ago, Ziemianek read about a house in San Francisco that was destroyed by fire. An indoor pot grow there strained the electrical system, the wiring overheated, and the resulting conflagration gutted the home.The Planning Commission will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at the Ukiah Civic Center. The workshop and public hearing on the marijuana ordinance is the first substantive item on the agenda. For more information, call City Clerk Marie Ulvila at 463-6217. Note: Wednesday the public will have a chance to give input. Let the discussion begin.Complete Title: Planning Commission To Begin Exploring Marijuana OrdinanceSource: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)Author: David Edwards, The Daily JournalPublished: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Ukiah Daily JournalContact: udj pacific.netWebsite: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Northern California NORMLhttp://www.norcalnorml.com/Angel Raich vs. John Ashcrofthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmSupes Say No Thanks' To Marijuana Regulationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20470.shtmlUkiah Seeks To Limit Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20147.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 13, 2005 at 12:41:44 PT
Related Article from The Ukiah Daily Journal
Marijuana Use by Kids Appears To Be IncreasingBy K.C. Meadows, The Daily JournalWednesday, April 13, 2005 Young people in Mendocino County have little trouble getting hold of marijuana and alcohol, and as they progress from middle school to high school there's less stigma attached to the use of drugs and alcohol among their peers.That's according to the 2005 Status Report on Children and Youth, released Tuesday to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors."Staggering" is the word used by Supervisor Jim Wattenburger when he saw a statistic in the report that indicates that between 1992 and 2003, the rate of arrest of young people between 12 and 17 for marijuana violations increased 323 percent.It just shows "the availability and the prevailing attitude of the use" of marijuana in Mendocino County, Wattenburger said.The statistics gathered by the Mendocino County Policy Council on Children and Youth also noted:  That in any given 30-day period 56 percent of 11th-graders in the county have used alcohol or drugs, 44 percent of ninth-graders and 21 percent of seventh-graders. Some 43 percent of seventh-graders said they thought alcohol was "very harmful," 28 percent of ninth-graders and 39 percent of 11th-graders. Only 3 percent of any of the students felt alcohol was "harmless."Some 64 percent of seventh-graders said they thought marijuana was "very harmful," 39 percent of ninth-graders and 42 percent of 11th-grade students. Only 5 percent of the students (6 percent of ninth-graders) felt marijuana was "harmless."When it came to whether their peers disapproved of alcohol use, 49 percent of seventh-graders said there was "a lot" of disapproval among their peers. That dropped to 23 percent in ninth grade and 20 percent in 11th grade. Some 39 percent of 11th-graders said there was no peer disapproval of alcohol use at all.Asked whether peers disapproved of marijuana use, 64 percent of seventh-graders said yes, while 36 percent of ninth-graders and 32 percent of 11th-graders agreed. When it came to getting their hands on drugs and alcohol, 60 percent of 11th-graders said it was "very easy" to get alcohol, and 70 percent of them said it was equally easy to get marijuana.Students in ninth grade had a bit harder time, but 48 percent still said it was "very easy" to get alcohol, and 51 percent of them said marijuana was "very easy" to find. About a third of seventh-graders said they didn't know how difficult or easy it would be to get alcohol and drugs, but just a few said they thought it would be "very difficult."The number of arrests of juveniles for marijuana-related crimes was on an upswing from 1999 through 2001, then dipped in 2002 but went back up again in 2003 to just under 150 arrests. Arrests for other drugs is much lower, at about 40 in 2003.Some 110 juveniles were arrested in 2003 for alcohol related crimes, just under 20 of them for drunken driving.According to Undersheriff Gary Hudson, arrests of juveniles stemming from marijuana violations come primarily from loud parties, traffic stops and school authorities. The sharp rise in marijuana arrests among young people in the last 10 years was no surprise."Not really," Hudson said. Since the passage of the medical marijuana law, Prop. 215, in 1996, "Public attitudes around marijuana seem to have become more accepting." For legitimate medical marijuana patients, that's a good thing, he said, but it also means much easier access for old and young alike."It was easy to get before, now it's coming out of storefronts," he said, referring to the medical marijuana dispensaries cropping up, two of them in the city of Ukiah.When Sheriff Tony Craver and District Attorney Norm Vroman first established the medical marijuana ID card system in the county, there were six medical marijuana patients under age 18 who got cards. Hudson says that five of those people are now over 18 and the one remaining underage card holder is a terminal patient. The county has issued no medical marijuana ID cards to underage caregivers.Marijuana possession is still illegal for anyone without a recommendation from a doctor. Hudson said possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine. Juvenile users are treated in the juvenile justice system. Alcohol use by anyone under age 21 is a misdemeanor.Hudson said he sympathizes with communities like the city of Ukiah, which are struggling with how to regulate the growing of marijuana."There is a place for increased local regulation," he said, noting that an imminent decision from the Supreme Court on whether medical marijuana laws trump federal anti-drug laws will have an effect on the future of legalized medical marijuana as well.Copyright: 2005 Ukiah Daily Journalhttp://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91~3089~2814347,00.html
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 11:52:14 PT
Valley City To Supply Medical Marijuana
April 12, 2005 Tulare is now home to the state's newest medical marijuana dispensary. At Charity Caregivers you can get marijuana if you have a prescription, but the city says it only gave the facility a permit to hand out information about medical marijuana, not the drug itself. Owner Shane Mclean says state law allows him to dispense the drug as long as he's a certified caregiver. The city now says an ordinance needs to be put in place to regulate distribution of marijuana, but it could be sometime before one is passed. http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/news/041205_nw_marijuana.html
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 11:00:57 PT
KCBS Cover Story: Medical Pot in the Bay Area
Cannabis clubs are sprouting up all over the Bay Area. Oakland was the first to try to limit or regulate the clubs, and now San Francisco is doing the same thing. At the same time, the US Supreme Court is about to rule on whether California's medical marijuana law exempts patients from federal prosecution. KCBS reporter Doug Sovern went undercover to see just how easy it is to buy pot for medicinal reasons. In his KCBS Cover Story, his investigation reveals just about anybody can do it. *** KCBS Cover Story: Medical Pot in the Bay Area #1http://www.kcbs.com/pages/kcbs/audio/POT1.mp3*** KCBS Cover Story: Medical Pot in the Bay Area #2http://www.kcbs.com/pages/kcbs/audio/POT2.mp3*** KCBS Cover Story: Medical Pot in the Bay Area #3http://www.kcbs.com/pages/kcbs/audio/POT3.mp3http://www.kcbs.com/pages/kcbs/newsteam/newsteam_page28.nsp
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 10:51:47 PT
On Beyond Organic: Organic Marijuana
April 12, 2005 — By Icicle Networks About two months ago, California's Mendocino County petitioned the state to allow regulation and certification of organic marijuana farms. County officials cited the requests of medical marijuana users who fear the effects of pesticides on their already compromised immune systems. So far, 10 states have taken some steps toward decriminalizing cannabis for medical uses. With California considered a thought leader and precedent setter on the issue -- the state has an estimated 125 "pot clubs" -- could marijuana be the next crop to go organic? Join host Jerry Kay, publisher of the Environmental News Network, as we find out about the controversy, talk to Canadian cannabis growers and learn about proposed regulation. The Beyond Organic radio show broadcasts every Wednesday at 10 a.m. (PST). For information on this week's guests and to tune in, visit -- http://www.BeyondOrganic.com You can also listen at http://www.iciclenetworks.com & http://www.wisdommedia.comhttp://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7514
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