Those readers this side of the pond will understand my confusion when this popped into my inbox this morning; I thought Reading in England had hit the medical marijuana map! Alas, I still had my night goggles on – the article refers to Redding in Northern California. Nevertheless, its still a good story for helping to understand the mindset of legislators.
Apparently, Redding City Council came to a deadlock on Monday evening when it came to voting on the medical marijuana regulations it approved just last week. The vote was for medical marijuana rules that give the police chief power to determine whether collectives are following Proposition 215 and the state Attorney General’s guidelines for complying with that law.
There are, allegedly, 20 to 30 collectives in Redding where medical marijuana is cultivated. Under the new rules, clubs would have to apply for a permit to continue doing business. Many of those who spoke against passing of the new law, including patients and collective representatives, were exercised by what they called the ‘green rush’ mentality of the town’s mushrooming of cannabis clubs.
It also appears that city officials had no clue as to basic marijuana facts; apparently they were unaware that cloning of marijuana plants is the same as cultivation!
Two laws were passed on the second reading, they were:
- The Planning Commission are to consider standards for marijuana cultivation and to codify zoning, keeping cannabis clubs 300 feet from homes and at least 1,000 feet from schools, youth centers, libraries and other collectives.
- A 45-day moratorium has been imposed on new medical marijuana collectives until the disputed regulations take effect.
The disputed law has been pulled from the consent calendar and listed for full debate in open session.
So, this isn’t really a failure, its a hiccup. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if such open debate on marijuana for medical use was universal?
