LAKEPORT — The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) directed staff to draft an ordinance regarding medical marijuana dispensaries after hearing updates and staff recommendations on the issue during Tuesday”s regular meeting.
Community Development Director Richard Coel introduced several recommendations that would allow dispensaries to operate subject to county regulation.
The suggestions included requiring all dispensaries be located at least 1,000 feet away from public schools, requiring the business obtain use permits, allowing new or relocated dispensaries in certain designated zoning areas and placing a cap on the number of dispensaries in the unincorporated county at 12.
Coel said that 12 dispensaries currently operate in the county, which matches the number of pharmacies in the county, and the majority are located in Coyote Valley, Kelseyville and South Lakeport.
More than 50 citizens attended the nearly three-hour hearing and 26 spoke on the issue.
The hour-long public input period was nearly evenly split in terms of whether dispensaries should be regulated by a county ordinance.
Dispensary operators, medical marijuana users and advocates spoke largely in favor of the current operating practices of the county”s dispensaries, which they said serve the best interest of the patrons.
The operators said they do not allow loitering outside their businesses and do not dispense marijuana to individuals without proper California identification and a legitimate doctor”s referrals.
The passage of Proposition 215 in 1996 allowed individuals with proper documentation to receive prescribed medical marijuana. Dispensaries operate as non-profit businesses to distribute the marijuana to patients.
Some citizens Tuesday spoke about the medical benefits of marijuana in their own lives. One person also said that the presence of dispensaries could help increase tourism into Lake County.
Other people spoke out against unregulated dispensaries, listing intense smells, excessive loitering, improper physician recommendations and public health concerns as issues they”ve observed in the county.
The pro-regulation individuals said they recognized that some people do have legitimate medical needs for marijuana but thought dispensaries need to be stringently regulated.
County laws do not currently regulate the 12 dispensaries because no ordinance addresses marijuana dispensaries, Coel said.
The staff recommendations would allow the 12 currently-operating dispensaries to remain in business provided they apply for a use permit and are set back 1,000 feet from schools. Coel said two of the dispensaries are located within the 1,000-foot radius.
The supervisors expressed consensus on a number of issues, including being in favor of the use permit process and the 1,000-foot setback. Some supervisors disagreed on the setting of a cap and the zoning requirements.
Staff will begin drafting an ordinance regarding medical marijuana dispensaries based on the BOS reaching a “general consensus” on many of the staff recommendations, Coel said.
The draft ordinance would be presented to the Lake County Planning Commission at a meeting later in the year, Coel said.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
