Politics & Government

You Tell Us: Should Sonoma County Limit Pot Dispensaries?

The law would cap dispensaries at nine – including the six currently operating shops, and the three pending facilities

 

The Sonoma County Planning Commission will review an ordinance today capping the number of marijuana dispensary licenses granted at nine facilities, a move which supporters say would reduce the amount of drug-related crime while still serving the population of medicinal users. 

The proposed ordinance would essentially close the market with the current six facilities and three facilities still maneuvering the permitting process, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported today.

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The Commission will look at three more flexible options, limiting licenses by district, size, or 'board discretion.' 

The rules would take effect in the unincorporated areas of Sonoma County, which include Boyes Hot Springs. In 2010 the community was agitated when a medicinal facility attempted to open up a few blocks from a local teen center.

Find out what's happening in Sonoma Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Medical marijuana advocates take issue with the license cap, claiming the rule would be discriminatory:

They don't put a cap on liquor stores or pharmacies in this county,” said Mary Pat Jacobs, spokeswoman for the advocacy group Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

Jacobs said the group's stance has not changed with the new proposed cap of nine shops.

But, according to the Press Democrat, "a majority of supervisors" believe the restrictions to the 2006 medical marijuana ordinance are necessary to effectively govern the growing marijuana industry on the North Coast, which they correlate with a rise in violent and petty crime.

The nine facilities, which are each permitted 1,000 customers, would effectively serve Sonoma County's medicinal marijuana using population, estimated at 9,700 to 14,500 said Amy Wingfield Lyle, the county planner overseeing the proposal to the Press Democrat.

The Planning Commission meets at 2:30 p.m. at the Permit and Resources Management Department in Santa Rosa. 


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