City Council to Extend Moratorium on New Cannabis Dispensaries

BY BILL KOENEKER

The moratorium on prohibiting the establishment of medicinal marijuana dispensaries is fast approaching and Malibu municipal officials say they need more time to study the issue.

The Malibu City Council, at its meeting next week, will be asked to continue the moratorium.

Currently, there are several “pot pharmacies” in Malibu and there are no regulations in place governing the operation of the facilities, according to the city attorney’s office.

The city council on June 26, 2006 approved an interim urgency ordinance that established a 45-day moratorium on the establishment of any new medical marijuana dispensaries. The measure was extended on August 21, 2006 and is set to expire this month.

“Staff anticipates a request will be coming forward at the June 25, 2007 city council meeting to extend the interim urgency ordinance,” wrote Assistant City Attorney Lauren Feldman.

Council members will be told the staff is still researching the possibility of permit requirements, siting criteria, operational regulations and determining if the operation of the dispensaries can “be safe and allowable use of property within the city.”

Meanwhile, federal agents have been raiding dispensaries in Southern California. Some of these raids took place in Los Angeles County in the past several months.

A consideration of the agents, according to city officials, is whether the marijuana comes from a legal source.

“It is still unclear at this time how to ensure that the dispensary is operating within the strict confines of the [law],” wrote the city attorney’s office. “Upon adoption of the interim ordinance, staff also began researching the local impacts associated with the operation of dispensaries to determine if operational or development regulations should be adopted.”

Addtionally, the conflicts between the federal and state laws are also problematic for municipal officials. “Due to the complexity of these issues, staff anticipates that the research and analysis will not be complete before the expiration date of the moratorium,” Feldman added.

In 1996, state voters enacted Prop 215 called the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 allowing individuals to grow and use marijuana for personal medical purposes on a physician’s recommendation. In 2003, the state legislature adopted the medical marijuana program, which requires the state Department of Health Services to establish a program for issuance of identification cards to qualified patients.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal laws prevailed, prohibiting the possession of marijuana for personal use.

Federal agencies have repeatedly denounced the state’s attempts to legalize the herb for medical purposes and have repeatedly taken enforcement action, including the most recent raids.

During the raids, federal agents shut down operation of the dispensaries, seized all of the marijuana and cash on the premises and detained employees and customers.