After several months of deliberating, the Scotts Valley City Council unanimously passed a city law that will prohibit medicinal marijuana dispensaries in Scotts Valley.
“This was the final vote on the matter,” said Steve Ando, city manager.
Ando said the ordinance would go into effect following a final reading at the city council’s March 30 meeting.
The March 16 decision followed two previous votes by the council to extend a moratorium on dispensaries and deny local entrepreneur Scott Gates a business license to operate a holistic healing center and dispensary within Scotts Valley’s borders.
“My issue is about laws,” Mayor Dene Bustichi said. “The fact remains that a dispensary flies in the face of federal law.”
Although the first version of the ordinance proposed to outlaw deliveries by outside dispensaries to patients within Scotts Valley, as well as banning the dispensaries themselves, the council struck that wording after agreeing that it would cut off patients who were unable to arrange transportation — and would run counter to California state law.
“We didn’t want to get into a situation where our laws were out of line with the state,” said Kirsten Powell, city attorney.
Proposition 215, which Californians passed in 1996, allows ill patients to use marijuana medically, as prescribed by a doctor.
Councilman Randy Johnson said that while allowing access to legal medicinal marijuana is important, the law enforcement side could not be overlooked.
“Part of this has to do with the people who will be served by this and to offset this are the unintended consequences that the dispensaries have,” Johnson said.
“I know and support those who have real need (for medicinal marijuana),”said Councilwoman Donna Lind. “But not in our community, until the legality is figured out.”
Lind also expressed support for allowing deliveries, but voiced concerns about the possibility of taking advantage of the state’s medicinal marijuana law.
“I do have concerns that people are able to obtain 215 cards so easily,” Lind said. “I’d like to see (the 215 program) used in the way it was intended.”
Council members Jim Reed and Stephany Aguilar both spoke in support of allowing dispensaries to make deliveries, with the stipulation that, to discourage crime, the delivery vehicles shouldn’t be adorned with flagrant advertisements.
“I can live with delivery,” Reed said. “But it should be discreet.”
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