The City Council’s decision by a 3-2 majority vote to direct the development of a policy to allow recreational and medicinal marijuana to be sold from storefront businesses on First Street needs to be reconsidered. There are a number of reasons for recommending that a “Time Out” be instituted regarding this very controversial decision and should be seriously considered.
My understanding of Proposition 64 rules are that jurisdictions must enact rules regarding marijuana before Jan. 1 otherwise they must cede that option to the state. On Sept. 29, the Court of Appeal, First District, Division 3, California ruled in a case for Vallejo. In that decision they reaffirmed that, “A County or City may make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general authority of California cities and counties, under their traditional land use and police powers, to allow, restrict, limit, or entirely exclude facilities that distribute medical marijuana, and to enforce such policies by nuisance actions.” (City of Riverside, supra, at p. 762) The same principle applies to recreational marijuana use, as Proposition 64 expressly provides that state regulations do not “limit the authority of a local jurisdiction to adopt and enforce local ordinances to regulate” marijuana dispensaries “or to completely prohibit” their “establishment or operation.” (Bus. & Prof. Code, §26200, subd.(a)(1).)” Benicia currently has an ordinance banning marijuana that with minor revisions meet that standard.
A critical question that must be asked and answered by Benicia City Council is why have more than 95 percent of the 34 cities in our sphere of influence (10 + miles) adopted regulations banning the sale and distribution of marijuana in their city, town, or county. Only two cities in Contra Costa County– Richmond and Moraga– allow the sale of medical marijuana and two cities in Solano County– Vallejo and Dixon. Yet, none of them are allowing recreational marijuana, even though a majority of voters in each community supported it. The irony is that these same voters strongly encouraged their representatives against licensing dispensaries in their community. In fact, only one city in the Bay Area– Emeryville– has created store licensing for recreational marijuana, according to the SF Chronicle.
Federal vs. state law
States pursued legalizing the sale of marijuana after the Obama administration released a memo from James Cole, deputy attorney general, that served as a guide on how the federal government and legalizing states would coexist. The guide was conditional requiring that the states held to “strict regulations, including ensuring that no minors got their hands on cannabis (Marijuana), and that states set strict regulations for driving under the influence. It also meant states had to take extra precautions to ensure that marijuana wasn’t trafficked interstate.”
In my opinion, the Obama administration and most notably President Obama did not care whether their actions, memos or executive orders were constitutional or legal. It was just how they wanted things to work. However, the new Trump administration is reversing that trend on all fronts especially in the area of compliance with law. Most notable is Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ actions in taking steps to reverse the heretofore hands-off approach to enforcing marijuana laws. In May, he asked Congress to repeal the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment which protects marijuana businesses in legal states from prosecution. In addition, he has been quoted saying that federal law banning the sale of marijuana “remains in effect” and that “I’ve never felt that we should legalize marijuana.”
In September 2017, the House Rules Committee blocked a vote on the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment proposed to extend these same protections for pot businesses in 2018 as in past years. This action could pave the way for Sessions to wreak havoc by using federal dollars to prosecute the marijuana business.
Moral considerations
It is incumbent on our elected representatives to carefully review and consider the data below as it is sobering and should cause any elected official to strongly focus on their primary mission to “protect the health (mental/physical) and safety of the community in which they serve.”
Facts to be considered before deciding to allow marijuana in Benicia
Statistical data regarding marijuana is somewhat difficult to obtain primarily because it is a Class 1 substance and cannot be studied by federally funded institutions without gaining the appropriate authority. However, data is coming available from studies of states that have already legalized marijuana most notably Colorado and Oregon. I try to speak with data.
Health & Safety – Emergency Room Data
Emergency room data from four Central Oregon hospitals show a rise in marijuana-related cases in a significant level to cause everyone to take notice, according to the Bend Bulletin:
* 2010-2012 ER registered 205 and 209 cases per year respectively for marijuana related illness
* 2014 (after legalization) that number jumped to 1,388 a 500-plus percent increase over 2012
* In 2015, that number jumped to 2,251, an 880-plus percent increase over 2012 and 68 percent above 2014.
While these statistics are mind-numbing, it is even more concerning to learn of the number of children in the above numbers. Before marijuana legalization, the ER saw around seven children a month, since legalization especially the marijuana laced edibles the number of cases range from 11 to 21 cases a month in nine of the past 11 months. The median age of these patients was 2 to 4 years. There is no antidote for marijuana, it simply has to run its course until the body metabolizes it to a safe level. Most concerning is the edibles some of which contain 50 or more milligrams of THC or five times the THC in a marijuana cigarette.
Health & Safety – Poison Center Calls
Marijuana related poison center calls spiked after penalties were reduced and possession became legal. Calls to the Oregon Poison Center have risen steadily since recreational use of marijuana and the sales of edibles went into effect, according to the Bend Bulletin. Calls used to average 20 to 40 per quarter before legalization. Since then calls have grown to 50, then 80 and now over 100 calls per quarter. One in 6 calls involve a child 5 years or younger.
(Part 2 will discuss increasing potency, crime rates and the impact on youth.)
Dennis Lowry is a Benicia resident.
Sharing is caring!
Very good Dennis. Looking forward to part two. Thank you.
What is mind numbing is that some citizens are still clinging to old data to sustain their prohibitionist stances. Colorado indicates downward trend in poison control center calls and e.r. visits. Public education is working. Nobody has EVER experienced death by cannabis over-consumption.
https://tinyurl.com/y7ubn9q5
What is moving too fast for some is the rapidly changing landscape of acceptance of cannabis. Here’s Concord coming around. There will be others going forward.
https://tinyurl.com/yavprfmd
The author is the second citizen to assert a ban on adult-use sales in Vallejo, and includes Dixon, Richmond, and Moraga as more examples. I looked at the muni code for each and found no such preemptive ban exists. I called an owner-operator in Vallejo to confirm that NO preemptive ban exists in Vallejo. I did find where Moraga staff was using a nine year old white paper to sustain their claims of increased violent crime from dispensaries. In the early days of un-regulated dispensaries, they popped up in unincorporated or off the main stream locations, without the stringent security measures now required by state law and local policies, and they were easy targets. Contemporary cannabis storefronts are NOT a public safety issue. I cannot find evidence to support the “crime magnet” claims that will continue to be offered as reasons to keep “M” and “A” licensing activity out of our town.
“Given all the pretty strong rhetoric about dispensaries generating or at least attracting crime, it was not the result we expected,” -UC Irvine study.
https://tinyurl.com/yd2r2axp
Lastly, the City of Berkeley is gearing up to permit adult-use sales on Jan 1, and it will extend to SIX permitted storefronts eventually.
https://tinyurl.com/yboxumss
I recommend the anti-cannabis assembly stay home and watch Jeopardy and Wheel on Nov. 7th because you won’t flip any of the three that have directed staff to develop policy supportive of seed to sale cannabusiness in Benicia. You are the minority opinion in this town and your numbers are shrinking fast. Boomers and post-Boomers are increasingly supportive of cannabis, making it normal again as it once was across our nation.
We have been discussing cannabis in Benicia for six months now. An extensive amount of outreach has been organized by staff, with repetitive airings of the HdL public workshop meeting. The topic has been on the agendas of several commission and board meetings. So this baloney about “going too fast” is just that.
Conservative-labeled citizens with an eye towards public office here should consider a rudder shift, given the direction and intensity of political winds in Benicia re: cannabis, demonstrated by a convincing majority of voters last year.
Dennis, You kind of glossed over the fact that marijuana is categorized as Class/Schedule 1 substance. 47 years ago In 1970, Congress placed cannabis into Schedule I on the advice of Assistant Secretary of Health. The classification was intended to be provisional: Cannabis is one of several plants with unproven abuse potential and toxicity that Congress placed in Schedule I. Additionally, marijuana does not adequately meet the criteria in order to be placed in Schedule I, and is only still categorized as a Class I due to the very loose and unfortunate interpretations of the criteria by opponents.
You also glossed over the “dangers” of edibles, or what the symtoms are of the folks going to the ER. Are they life threatening? “There is no antidote for marijuana, it simply has to run its course until the body metabolizes it to a safe level.” What does “safe levels” mean here?
Furthermore the following statement seem to be unsubstantiated:
“Yet, none of them are allowing recreational marijuana, even though a majority of voters in each community supported it. The irony is that these same voters strongly encouraged their representatives against licensing dispensaries in their community.” How do you know that “these same voters strongly encouraged their representatives against licensing dispensaries”.? You alluded to the importance of data.
Finally, on “The median age of these patients was 2 to 4 years.”. This is just a glaring example of poor parenting. These are the same kind of parents that leave legally owned guns accessible, so that small children can kill themselves, or others Perhaps there should be stricter gun laws? Perhaps we should make poor parenting illegal?
Here is a comprehensive full bucket of water to douse any concerns about cannabis storefronts and public safety. If you can make it down the page without dropping to the floor and pounding on it in disbelief, you will find the data from LA, the biggest concentration of dispensaries in the US, indicating the lowest crime rate since 1949. One LA Police Chief’s study concluded banks are more likely to be robbed than dispensaries. I can recall six bank robberies in our town, yet nobody is advocating banning banks. You’ll learn, hopefully sooner than later.
https://tinyurl.com/p6c5mdn
Great comments, as usual, Stan.
What I am finding consistently in the Bay Area cities with bans in place is an open door into future regulation, citing tax revenues predominantly. They will come around eventually, Number of bans at present means nothing, and does not demonstrate that most cities don’t want cannabis in their communities so we should follow suit. There will be a flurry of activity in the next couple of months as cities try to beat the deadline. Our city has been ahead of the curve since March, slow and steady.
Cities that ban cannabis as of Jan. 1, will NOT be eligible for state excise tax grant funds for law enforcement, fire protection, and other local programs addressing public health and safety.
Here is an interesting read about a CA city that banned, now wants to permit full service cannabis, but they will have to scramble to do so. Wonder what flipped them? The money? Loss of grant eligibility?
https://tinyurl.com/ya9rtpud
Contra Costa County has a total ban except for home cultivation, but their BOS have expressed interest in regulated activity. To this end, CC County will place a tax measure on the Nov. 2018 ballot, with a provision that regulated activity will be allowed if the tax measure passes. Looks like a whole bunch of cities in the “sphere of influence” will come over next year.
“I believe that adult-use (recreational marijuana) really could be the county’s cash cow,”
True. Industry analysts expect a huge shift from “M” to “A” consumer spending habits, as well as new consumers entering the regulated “A” market.
https://tinyurl.com/ycza9mcs
Recent news: 64% of Americans say cannabis should be legal in a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday. This represents the highest level of support in the organization’s 48 years of polling on the topic.
Canada is targeting July 1 next year to legalize. Canadian officials are concerned there will not be enough supply.
“A shortage would compromise one of the government’s major goals in legalization: stamping out the black market.”
That and as a tool to deploy against their own opioid emergency in the interest of harm reduction.