On Level Four Permitting in San Diego

By: Larry Sweet, San Diego MMTF / San Diego ASA

As the author of the two-tier permitting recommendation from the Medical Marijuana Task Force (MMTF), I have often been asked “why don’t you support level four permitting for dispensaries?”  It is a reasonable question and one that deserves a considered opinion.  I hope the following helps clarify this question and helps people get behind reasonable permitting.

The first thing to understand is that a level four permit is the same permit that is required for an airport for example or botanical gardens for another.  It is necessary for the complex nature of these enterprises and allows for extensive conditional use, public review and exhaustive inspection.  One would expect that level of permitting for control of pollution.  Dispensaries are not that complicated.

The City IBA reported to the MMTF that the initial, non-refundable fee for a level four permit was $8,000.  In addition to that; all agree that the costs of inspection and permitting should be recovered from the applicant.  According to the documentation from other Counties reviewed by the MMTF these permits can cost applicants $35,000 to $50,000 in fees for the permitting process alone.

A hidden cost to the start up cost is the investment beyond the permitting fees themselves.  Any business that applies for a fee will have to demonstrate they have a location which means a lease agreement entailing deposits and a financial commitment for typically more than a year.  In addition there are the costs associated with remodeling, furniture, security equipment, medicine and myriad other necessities.  These costs mount up extremely fast considering you can easily spend $30,000 on the lease alone.

A conservative estimate based on the above show that if your collective wishes to open a dispensary they will need somewhere north of $100,000 for start-up capitol. 

There are two extremely important points relative to that number:
1.     This effectively closes every legitimate collective in town, except a couple of very large operations.
2.    The City is asking only people with that much money to provide medicine for the patients who need access.

I believe that San Diegans, due to their proximity to the border, must be extremely careful who they invite to this dance.  Unfortunately, we have people that are that well organized with those resources engaged in a blood bath south of the border.

I am not certain that the City Council itself fully understands the implications of passing a level four permit.  Do they really want to have their name and office associated with every dispensary that exists in San Diego from this point forward?  Do they really have the time, energy and political capitol to revisit this issue every time someone wants to provide safe access in San Diego?  I prefer the permitting process to be codified and clear, not subject to the political aspirations of the current or any other City Council. 

I do not intend to make the case for the two-tier approach again; I believe that the protection it affords smaller collectives is self evident.  My concern is that the City Council is about to throw the baby out with the bath water if they support level four permitting.  The current strength found in the responsible and respectable collectives in town will be decimated and patients will be forced into WeedMart corrals for access to their medicine.  It is my hope that the level heads on the City Council are aware of these issues and will provide, somehow, for the continuing existence of the current collectives, regardless of their size or financial resources.

 San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force Website

San Diego MMTF Meeting Friday 3/19 at 9am

The San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force meets again this Friday 9am -11am
202 C St. San Diego A 92101 (map)
City Council Committee Room, 12th floor of the City Administration Building.

The task force is working on recommendations to the San Diego City Council with regards to medical marijuana regulations and zoning ordinances. This Friday it is critical that we get the community out to the meeting.

Friday 3/19/2010 MMTF Agenda:

• ITEM 1 – Proposed recommendations regarding packaging, labeling and transport of medical marijuana
• ITEM 2 – Adoption of a statement of concern to forward to City and County officials
• ITEM 3 – Adoption of a statement regarding medical marijuana use by juveniles
• ITEM 4 – Agenda items for next meeting (if time permits)

This is our opportunity to weigh in on the process which will affect many thousands of patients in our community for years to come.

Your input is needed and encouraged. Come to the meeting, fill out a public comment sheet, and let your voice be heard!

San Diego Americans for Safe Accesswww.SafeAccessSD.org

Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org

Report on San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force – 2/5/2010

By Larry Sweet
The MMTF today considered the ramifications of the Kelly decision. It became clear that the local limits to possession and plants needed to be reviewed. A sub-committee was formed and four MMTF members will go over the current ordinances and bring back recommendations to the group in two weeks.

The issue of auditing and sufficient declaration of non-profit status was discussed at length. No firm conclusions were formed and the item was continued till the next meeting. I constructed a statement of intent to operate as non-profit that described the distribution system in a collective. The other members are reviewing it so we can address it next meeting. The statement is as follows:

“It is expected that all Collective Members are potentially Growers and can grow for themselves as they are able or as they choose. Collective Members are expected to bring the excess medical marijuana from their own personal grows to the Collective where they may be compensated by cash or trade in kind. Certain Collective Members choose that their sole support to the cooperative effort will be to contribute their time and expertise in growing medical marijuana for the Collective. Growers are compensated for their time and expenses in growing for the collective when the harvest is brought to the Dispensary. Other members may participate in the cooperative cultivation of the medical marijuana, however the Growers are responsible and compensated by the Collective accordingly. The Dispensary then packages and determines a fair cash transaction amount to be paid by other Members of the Collective as their contribution to the cultivation of the medicine. Members may offer labor at any point in the cultivation cycle as their skills and choices allow and as opportunity permits.

Additional cash as may accrue over time to the Collective may be used to obtain and maintain properties and equipment as the Collective’s needs dictate. That cash may also be donated to charities selected by the Collective Board.”

I am very optimistic about the direction the MMTF is taking. It appears that the entire group is on task and ready to get some regulations going. We will be continuing the non-profit declaration issue as well as revisiting some concerns we have with security.
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San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org

Report on the San Diego City Medical Marijuana Task Force for 01/21/10

By MMTF Member Larry Sweet

Chief Solis and Captain McDonald attended and were the sole action item for the MMTF today. While both insisted that they followed the AG Guidelines, their interpretations were rather rigid. They objected to:

1. Anyone with a recommendation can join a collective making MMJ too available to non MMJ interests
2. Not enough clear documentation proving non-profit. Not enough documentation.

They did say they would return a set of bullet points listing the things they would look for to establish that a coop is non-profit. In return they were offered a power point presentation regarding the issue of MMJ, presented by myself, to any SDPD group that would like to learn the perspective.

The police said that cooperatives were the only legal entity. I pointed out that 501c coops were federal and not appropriate and Mark Blumel pointed out that the State was no longer licensing coops which meant in their eyes, nothing was legal. We discussed the Floracare case decision which found Floracare to be a legal entity though they were not a coop, but they were a collective operating cooperatively. The police said that might be considered legal.

Various members of the task force reinforced the statements made in earlier meetings that more rigid regulation would invite cartel MJ, something that the MMJ community abhors. I made it clear, as well as others, that we wanted to work with SDPD to make MMJ safe for neighborhoods and protect our youth.

Overall the Chief and Captain agreed that once the City Council passed the ordinances that they would follow them to the letter, regardless of their position now.

San Diego City Council Refers Medical Marijuana Recommendations to Land Use and Housing

Today the San Diego City Council voted to in favor of passing the recommendations of the San Diego Medical Marijuana Task force to the Land Use and Housing Committee for their input. The vote was 7-1 in favor of the issue.

At the start of today’s council session, representatives from Americans for Safe Access were at the city council meeting and spoke during public comment to encourage the task force to pass the regulations. When the item was called in the afternoon, there were dozens of medical cannabis patients and concerned citizens from a variety of local organizations including NORML, the DPA and others in the council chambers to show their support for the recommendations and sensible regulations.

Unfortunately the community was not able to give the council any input on the issue since public comment on the item was already heard at the previous meeting. There were even people wearing “Target” stickers to symbolize that patients feel targeted without sensible regulations.

Some in the media quickly after the meeting have reported that the Task Force rejected the recommendations, this however is not entirely accurate. It is not uncommon that Zoning issues are referred to the Land Use and Housing Committee for input. By March the committee will provide feedback to the City Council on the proposed recommendations, and hopefully propose to amend the Zoning Code to allow for medical cannabis collectives.

A complete ordinance regulating medical marijuana collectives will more than likely go up for vote before the end of 2010. It is our hope and the hope of many in the community that this issue will not be stalled or placed on a back burner. Patients need clarity and Safe Access.

Write the city San Diego City council members and thank them for their hard work on the issue and urge them to quickly bring the issue out of the Land Use and Housing Committee and back to the council for vote.

kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov
toddgloria@sandiego.gov
anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov
carldemaio@sandiego.gov
donnafrye@sandiego.gov
martiemerald@sandiego.gov
benhueso@sandiego.gov
sherrilightner@sandiego.gov


Eugene Davidovich
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.safeaccesssd.org

Related Media Coverage:
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-05/politics-city-county-government/san-diego-city-council-rejects-proposed-medical-marijuana-regulations

January 4th City Council Meeting / MMTF Update

Dear San Diego Medical Marijuana Community and Concerned Citizens,

At the last San Diego City Council meeting public comment on the item of Medical Marijuana Recommendations was heard and the Council voted to continue the item until Monday, January 4 at 2:00pm.

It is critical that we turn out and send a quiet message that we want fair regulations and support the San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force recommendations.
In support of our message we will be handing out “Target” stickers for supporters of the task force recommendations to wear in response to the “no pot shop” stickers handed out by the county funded organizations who spoke out against regulations at the last meeting. We do not support “pot shops” we support regulations and fair treatment of this issue.

Come to the city council meeting on January 4th at 202 C St San Diego, CA 92101 at 2 pm to get your “Target” sticker and help us send a message to the city council.

The next San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force Meetings:

• Thursday, January 21 – 9am – 11am
• Friday, February 5 – 9am – 11am
• Friday, February 19 – 9am – 11am
The meetings will be every other week until the end of October 2010.

www.SafeAccessSD.org

San Diego Medical Marijuana Task Force Meeting #4 - 10/29/2009

The San Diego Medical Marijuana Task force will meet Friday October 30th, 2009, for the fourth time to deliberate on regulations for medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives in the city.

One of the items presented to the task force will be a public opinion poll of City of San Diego residents conducted by Elizabeth Sheld of Competitive Edge Research and Steven Francis of KeepComingBack.com after which the deliberation will begin.

Aside from the poll, the other hot item on the agenda is Action Item; Existence of dispensing cooperatives and collectives via a discretionary process or a hybrid “by right/discretionary” process or alternatives.

Many in the community plan to come out and address the task force, including members of San Diego Americans for Safe Access.

The Official Agenda for the meeting as well as minutes from previous meetings are available for download from the task force's website at: http://www.sandiego.gov/medicalmarijuana/meetings/

MEDICAL MARIJUANA TASK FORCE
Alex Kreit, Chair
Stephen Whitburn, Vice Chair
AGENDA FOR
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009, AT 9:00 A.M.
COMMITTEE ROOM (12TH FLOOR),
CITY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
202 C STREET, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
For information, contact Kim Nguyen, Council District Seven
202 C Street, 3rd Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
Email: KLNguyen@sandiego.gov
(619) 236-7042

NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT

TASK FORCE COMMENT

CITY ATTORNEY AND IBA STAFF COMMENT

APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 22, 2009

INFORMATION ITEM

ITEM 1 – Presentation of a public opinion poll of City of San Diego residents conducted by Elizabeth Sheld of Competitive Edge Research and Steven Francis of KeepComingBack.com

ACTION ITEMS

ITEM 2 – Existence of dispensing cooperatives and collectives via a discretionary process or a hybrid “by right/discretionary” process or alternatives

ITEM 3 – Signage conditions to be placed on dispensing cooperatives and collectives

ITEM 4 – Distance requirements to be placed on dispensing cooperatives and collectives
a) Distance from schools, parks, recreational facilities, other similar entities
b) Distance from one another

DISCUSSION ITEM

ITEM 5 – Agenda items for next meeting

Patient Limits are Unconstitutional

The courts have already decided the issue: in People vs. Kelly

Last year, in this case the Second Appellate District Court ruled that “the CUA can only be amended with voters’ approval. Voters, however, did not approve the eight ounce

limit and other caps in section 11362.77; hence, section 11362.77 unconstitutionally amends the CUA.”

THIS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AS RULED BY THE SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT COURT:

11362.77. (a) A qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana per qualified patient. In addition, a qualified patient or primary caregiver may also maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants per qualified patient.

NOTE: This case is currently under review by the Supreme Court. It no longer is considered "good law" until they issue a ruling. They set Nov 3 as argument day, and we get a ruling within 90 days after that.

Community Members React to San Diego City Council Medical Marijuana Task Force Appointments

Watch the videos of members of the community addressing the San Diego City Council regarding their appointment of the new Medical Marijuana Task Force on October 6th 2009.

• Eugene Davidovich
• Hudd Colins
• James Stacy
• Jeff Travathon
• Jeremy Annaka
• Mara Felsen
• Rudy Reyes
• Wendy Kristakes