I operate a medical marijuana collective dispensary in the City of Clearlake. I have been before you in the past to speak on this issue.
I am speaking to you today about the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries. I urge you to follow the example of several other municipalities that have successfully developed regulations without instituting moratoria, while others have voted not to extend brief moratoria.
A moratorium is not a necessary step to regulate medial cannabis dispensaries, and it places undue burden on medical marijuana patients. Patients who are unable to cultivate medical marijuana themselves and cannot find a caregiver to do it for them often turn to private patient collectives as a way to obtain their medicine. Collectives are explicitly allowed under state law and must be accommodated by local government.
Dispensaries reduce crime and improve public safety. Some reports have suggested that dispensaries are magnets for criminal activity or other behavior that is a problem for the community, but the experience of those cities with dispensary regulations say otherwise.
Crime statistics and the accounts of local officials surveyed indicate that crime is actually reduced by the presence of a dispensary. And complaints from citizens and surrounding businesses are either negligible or are significantly reduced with the implementation of local regulations.
This trend has led multiple cities and counties to consider regulation as a solution. Kern County, which passed a dispensary ordinance in July 2006, is a case in point. The sheriff there noted in his staff report that “regulatory oversight at the local levels helps prevent crime directly and indirectly related to illegal operations occurring under the pretense and protection of state laws authorizing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.” The sheriff specifically pointed out that, “existing dispensaries have not caused noticeable law enforcement of secondary effects and problems for at least one year. As a result, the focus of the proposed ordinance was narrowed to insure dispensary compliance with the law” (Kern County Staff Report, Proposed Ordinance Regulating Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, July 11, 2006).
The presence of a dispensary in the neighborhood can actually improve public safety and reduce crime. Most dispensaries take security for their members and staff more seriously than many businesses. Security cameras are often used both inside and outside the premises, and security guards are often employed to ensure safety. Both cameras and security guards serve as a general deterrent to criminal activity and other problems on the street. Those likely to engage in such activities will tend to move to a less-monitored area, thereby ensuring a safe environment not only for dispensary members and staff but also for neighbors and businesses in the surrounding area.
Oakland”s city administrator for the ordinance regulating dispensaries, Barbara Killey, notes that “The areas around the dispensaries may be some of the most safest areas of Oakland now because of the level of security, surveillance, etc. since the ordinance passed.”
Likewise, Santa Rosa Mayor Jane Bender noted that since the city passed its ordinance, there appears to be “a decrease in criminal activity. There certainly has been a decrease in complaints. The city attorney says there have been no complaints either from citizens nor from neighboring businesses.”
Regarding the decrease in complaints about existing dispensaries, several officials said that ordinances significantly improved relations with other businesses and the community at large.
We at D&M Compassion Center collect state sales tax and have been good citizens and neighbors within the city and the business community. Surrounding businesses have benefited from our being here through increased traffic we have brought to the surrounding area. We are currently in the process of trying to sponsor a bass fishing tournament here in Clearlake that should attract a large number of participants and spectators all of whom will be spending money in the gas stations, restaurants and hotels.
I encourage the council to support and develop regulations that provide safe and legal access to medical cannabis so patients aren”t forced to access medicine in illegitimate places. Let me point out that since we have been operating in the City of Clearlake that the city has had no reports of obtaining illegal medicines from our establishment, no negative reports on children or other undesirables loitering in or around our establishment. We have been the model for cannabis collectives everywhere.
In closing I would like to emphasize my willingness and the willingness of my staff and our collective membership to work with and assist the city and the council in any way we can to develop and implement legislation beneficial not to just the medical marijuana patients, but to the entire community as a whole.
Dave McCullick, proprietor of D&M Compassion Center, delivered these remarks at a recent hearing by the Clearlake City Council, to extend a moratorium on issuing business licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries within the City of Clearlake. The council”s vote was 5-0 to extend the moratorium.
