Planning Commission Says No to Ban on Pot Pharmacies

• Majority of Panelists Recommend Allowing Three Facilities with Tight Restrictions •

BY BILL KOENEKER

New members of the Malibu Planning Commission took their seats Tuesday night, and the panelists quickly got down to business. On a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Ed Gillespie and Regan Schaar dissenting, the commission recommended allowing three medical marijuana dispensaries in Malibu, but with tight restrictions and regulations.
The panel heard from numerous individuals who described their medical problems and how marijuana provided relief.
Newly appointed Commissioner Jeff Jennings said he would support a regulatory approach, but with provisions that there be no on-site consumption of the drug. “I would not support only one dispensary. We do not want to create a monopoly,” he said.
Chair Joan House, who had just been tapped by the panelists for the top position, said she questioned eight doctors in her family about the legitimacy of medical marijuana. “Everyone of them supported it. It is too bad the federal government has not come into line. If I had my preference, you would go to a pharmacy,” said House, who was adamant that no more than three dispensaries be allowed in the city.
Newly installed Commissioner John Mazza said he believes that since the drug is taxed, it should be regulated. “The taxes are important. I am for regulation rather than a ban. We can ban smoking on the premises,” he said. Mazza was referring to earlier testimony that the state Board of Equalization taxes the sale of marijuana since it is not a prescription drug. Panelists were also told patients obtain their quota as determined by a physician.
However, Schaar said she had earlier in the day checked out the operations of one of Malibu’s pot pharmacies where she allegedly witnessed children entering the premises, saw that nearby offices were smoky, and there seemed to be no oversight.
“I took my children to play a new video game. The moms went into another room. It filled up with smoke from the medical marijuana dispensary. This room was filled with children. It made me sick to my stomach. The kids came into the dispensary. There was blatant abuse. One of the tenants said they called the sheriff, but was told there was nothing they could do,” she said. “It has made me feel completely differently than I did this morning.”
Newly appointed Commissioner Ed Gillespie said that while his “heart goes out to people who need this medication,” he does not believe that Malibu is the place for pot dispensaries. “We are way over our heads on this one. It bothers me. No matter how you slice it, it is against federal law,” he said.
Commissioners consulted with a deputy sheriff and an advocate about the status of a drug that was legalized by the voters of the state for medical purposes, but marijuana is still considered a controlled substance by the feds. An attorney representing one of the dispensaries told the panel that the establishment had 1000 customers with a 90265 address.
Mazza initially made a motion to recommend to the city council that it approve a zone text amendment to the city’s zoning codes to conditionally permit medical marijuana dispensaries in specific commercial zones.
Jennings successfully sought a number of amendments to the motion that were accepted by Mazza, who could not get a third vote after House balked when he tried to get the majority to limit the number of dispensaries to five. House said she would only support three. When Mazza’s motion failed on a 2-3 vote, House made her own motion, including the same resolution with the limit of three, that motion was approved on a 3-2 vote.
The new law, if approved by the council, would establish a permit requirement with location restrictions, such as no pot pharmacies within a 500-foot radius of a church, temple, playground, park, day care or school.
Other requirements would address security and lighting, hours of operation, limits on how much cash can be kept on premises, curbs on purchasers under 18, and operators having to undergo a complete criminal background check