McCowen sets Sept. 9 for (Mendocino County) medical marijuana dispensary meeting

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Updated: 09/01/2011 11:59:44 PM PDT

Mendocino County 2nd District Supervisor John McCowen on Thursday announced he will hold a meeting in September to begin crafting an ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.

McCowen and 5th District Supervisor Dan Hamburg were appointed in July to draft the regulations. Hamburg stepped down last month after announcing that his daughter is looking to open a dispensary, citing a desire to avoid a conflict of interest. The committee was disbanded when none of the three remaining county supervisors stepped up to take Hamburg's place.

"The board then gave approval for me to work independently with the community to develop draft dispensary regulations for the full board to consider," McCowen wrote in a Thursday statement.

He continued, "My intention is to work with the community to draft a model ordinance that balances the needs of patients and their caregivers to have safe access to medical marijuana, and the needs of residents and the community to be protected from public health, safety and nuisance impacts. A model ordinance can also help bridge the gap between rural and urban counties and discourage black market diversion and harmful environmental impacts."

The meeting is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 9 in Conference Room C at the Mendocino County Administration Center, 501 Low Gap Road in Ukiah. McCowen stated it will be the first of several such meetings to be held at locations throughout the county.

The meeting's purpose is "to gather input on the range of issues that the public would like to see in a dispensary ordinance," according to McCowen.

The Mendocino County civil grand jury noted in its report this year that all an entrepreneur needs to open a medical marijuana dispensary is a business license.
Ten dispensaries exist in Mendocino County, and law enforcement officials stated previously that few, if any, complaints have been lodged.

McCowen writes, "The lack of problems has caused some to question the need for regulation. But others have expressed concern about the locations and conditions under which dispensaries may operate. Still others, including some within the medical marijuana community, see regulation as a way to provide greater legitimacy and stability."

Anyone who wishes to speak at the September meeting will be asked to fill out a speaker request form and to limit "initial comments" to three minutes per speaker to allow all other speakers a chance to speak. A roundtable discussion may follow if time allows after initial comments, according to McCowen's statement.

Written comments of any length may also be submitted. Formal minutes will not be kept, but a volunteer will take notes to be distributed to anyone who requests a copy.

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