Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Half Baked

For years, medical marijuana advocates have urged San Diego city officials to establish clear guidelines on the rights of medical marijuana patients. They lobbied the city for regulations on medical marijuana collectives and asked them to define the relationship of the city's police force with the local cooperatives, all with little success.

Yet, at the July 29 meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, many of those requests were answered when the committee deliberated on the issue of medical marijuana and the establishment of a citizen's task force to help create guidelines for the implementation of the program.

"Our commitment [is to] protect the integrity of California's law and the will of [the state's] voters," said councilmember Marti Emerald, chair of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. "We need to protect the integrity of the medical marijuana program."

Sponsored
Sponsored

During Emerald's introduction, the district 7 councilmember commented on the problems created from the county's lawsuit against medical marijuana law. "We have a storm brewing in our city...brought mostly because of the irresponsible behavior of the County of San Diego, which decided to spend years and thousands of taxpayer dollars to undermine the will of the voters.

"Rather than do their constitutional duty, the county threw this entire process into chaos. And now we get to sort it out and deal with the real issue while the county continues to hide its head in the sand."

The meeting, however, was not without its buzz kills.

"The mayor's office isn't opposed to the council creating an advisory task force for the council," said a mayoral staff member. "As it relates to participating on or staffing the task force, that is not something that the mayor would support."

As the committee discovered, establishing an effective task force without the mayor's participation would be a task in itself. Without the mayor's approval, representatives from the City's planning, police, and development services departments will all be unable to be fully engaged in the dialogue.

"[If] the mayor is not participating, and none of the departments are participating...it will be difficult," said district 4 councilmember Tony Young. "And that concerns me."

Despite the setback, the committee unanimously agreed to compose an 11-member medical marijuana task force, including those with backgrounds in community planning, social services, as patients of medical marijuana, legal and medical experts, and owners of medical marijuana collectives.

Added Emerald after the vote was taken: "We will send a message to the president of the council to expedite the docketing, so that we can get on this...as soon as possible."

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Could Supplemental Security Income house the homeless?

A board and care resident proposes a possible solution
Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount

For years, medical marijuana advocates have urged San Diego city officials to establish clear guidelines on the rights of medical marijuana patients. They lobbied the city for regulations on medical marijuana collectives and asked them to define the relationship of the city's police force with the local cooperatives, all with little success.

Yet, at the July 29 meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, many of those requests were answered when the committee deliberated on the issue of medical marijuana and the establishment of a citizen's task force to help create guidelines for the implementation of the program.

"Our commitment [is to] protect the integrity of California's law and the will of [the state's] voters," said councilmember Marti Emerald, chair of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. "We need to protect the integrity of the medical marijuana program."

Sponsored
Sponsored

During Emerald's introduction, the district 7 councilmember commented on the problems created from the county's lawsuit against medical marijuana law. "We have a storm brewing in our city...brought mostly because of the irresponsible behavior of the County of San Diego, which decided to spend years and thousands of taxpayer dollars to undermine the will of the voters.

"Rather than do their constitutional duty, the county threw this entire process into chaos. And now we get to sort it out and deal with the real issue while the county continues to hide its head in the sand."

The meeting, however, was not without its buzz kills.

"The mayor's office isn't opposed to the council creating an advisory task force for the council," said a mayoral staff member. "As it relates to participating on or staffing the task force, that is not something that the mayor would support."

As the committee discovered, establishing an effective task force without the mayor's participation would be a task in itself. Without the mayor's approval, representatives from the City's planning, police, and development services departments will all be unable to be fully engaged in the dialogue.

"[If] the mayor is not participating, and none of the departments are participating...it will be difficult," said district 4 councilmember Tony Young. "And that concerns me."

Despite the setback, the committee unanimously agreed to compose an 11-member medical marijuana task force, including those with backgrounds in community planning, social services, as patients of medical marijuana, legal and medical experts, and owners of medical marijuana collectives.

Added Emerald after the vote was taken: "We will send a message to the president of the council to expedite the docketing, so that we can get on this...as soon as possible."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Could Supplemental Security Income house the homeless?

A board and care resident proposes a possible solution
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader