Garden Grove bans medical marijuana dispensaries

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Garden Grove bans medical marijuana dispensaries

Council members approve second reading of city ordinance that would not
allow clinics within city limits.

By DEEPA BHARATH
The Orange County Register

GARDEN GROVE – An ordinance to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within
city limits will become effective 30 days from today after council members
voted 4-1 to pass such an ordinance.

The City Council approved the second reading of the ordinance tonight, with
Councilman Mark Rosen casting the sole dissenting vote.

More than 25 people came to the meeting in Council Chambers to show their
support for medical marijuana dispensaries in general. Several spoke in
support of one particular clinic, Unit-D on Brookhurst Street, which has
been operating for seven months and is popular among Orange County medical
marijuana patients.

Rosen said he received reports from the city's police department that there
have been no criminal or other disruptive incidents reported at Unit-D since
it opened up.

"To ban this is mired in mid-20th-century thinking," he said.

Rosen argued that Unit-D should be allowed to continue with a
conditional-use permit. But his fellow council members disagreed.

Councilman Steve Jones said he does not want the city to become exposed to
liability for poor-quality drugs, which may be sold in these facilities.

"As a city, we have no control over the quality of products sold in these
places, but we still have to assume liability for them," he said.

Many patients addressed the council. Some, such as Marla James, approached
the podium in wheelchairs.

"The information you have received is biased and outdated," she told the
council. "I'm asking you to postpone your vote until you learn all the
facts."

Unit-D will continue to operate in Garden Grove until it is not possible for
it to do so, said Joe G., one of the main business owners who attended the
meeting, but did not speak. He asked that he not be identified by his last
name because of his involvement in various local community organizations.

"This is not over," he said outside Council Chambers. "We are going to use
all our resources to make sure we continue to remain, whether it's in Garden
Grove or somewhere else."

Contact the writer: 714-445-6685 or dbharath@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/council-city-unit-2195383-continue-medical