A protocol put together a few weeks ago by deputy DA Jim Sibley tried to clarify his office’s stance on medical marijuana with a simple explanation: Collectives are legal under California law if they are clearly nonprofit and follow land-use codes. That didn’t stop Police Chief Chris Moore from telling the San Jose City Council that he’d heard directly from the DA’s office that not one of the 100-plus dispensaries in San Jose is legal.
Perhaps Moore did not read Sibley’s protocol, which criticized police for “an overly aggressive approach driven by a strained interpretation of the law that appears unsupported by any published authority.” Moore then proceeded to claim that pot clubs pose a grave threat to the public while certain members of the council re-created a scene from Reefer Madness, harping on the hazards of marijuana—and demonstrating another of the DA’s findings: “Our investigation revealed that ... individuals, agencies and organizations are still actively engaged in advocacy almost as if our current laws were not in place,” while “some in law enforcement continue to argue that marijuana is simply a dangerous drug, with no medical uses or benefits.”
DA Jeff Rosen said the City Council is free to set strict guidelines—which the council did two weeks ago by imposing a cap of 10 on collectives. But just because the city and the SJPD have a problem with a pot club doesn’t mean Rosen’s office will prosecute. Instead, problem collectives will be given a warning and an opportunity to clean up their act. If dispensaries don’t do so, “we’re going to weed out the bad operators,” Rosen vowed. (He added that the pun was not intended.)
Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, who has been pushing for regulation since 2009, when there were fewer than a dozen pot clubs in town, applauded the county’s new approach, which he said is drastically different than those of other DAs in the state, most notably Los Angeles’ raid-happy Steve Cooley.
With Sibley submitting a finalized draft of his protocol this week, Fly is tempted to believe the matter is on the verge of being resolved—but not so fast. An additional actor has stepped onto the medical marijuana fracas in recent weeks: United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5. Offering to throw some political clout behind the pot cubs, the union is slowly but surely garnering interest from collectives—although union rep Jonathan Hughes says no one is being actively recruited. The union is also continuing to lobby City Hall for a different approach than the cap, which should make an at-times exasperated Mayor Chuck Reed just ecstatic. Just what he needs—another union battle.
>>An additional actor has stepped onto the medical marijuana fracas in recent weeks: United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5.
Well since nobody else seems to be responding.
Yup, Derp, of course they’d back the pot clubs. They want that work of harvesting and processing crops, BUT NOT SO FAST!
Never has there been a crop worth more per pound and produces more profit to effort than marijuana grown in the valley of hearts delights. Due to it having to be grown indoors (to hide from prying eyes/security) growing becomes a technical trade instead of a labour one.
One of my friends is currently employed by several clubs to set up grows. He’s bringing in close to $7500@mo for consulting fee’s. No bullshit.
I have a feeling that the marijuana industry at the end will have a closer resemblance to the wine industry than anything else. It’s not the same old “grow it in dirt and flood the orchards with water” type growing my family used to do. The technical aspects are huge.
-You have the grow consultant, recommending lights, nutrients, etc.
-The lights are 1000’s of watts, and require an electrician to install high load circuits.
-The lights need ventilation, requiring HVAC assistance in venting the hot air from the lights out.
-Finally the drip and fire sprinker systems require a plumber.
-final processing will probably be done by United Food and Commercial Workers.
With the exception of the “grow consultant” there is a potential 3 other trades that can profit from it. There is a tradeoff however…
As some have pointed out, there is a price paid in the carbon footprint. It would be nice if part of the plan laid out that grows must generate a positive carbon footprint by investing in solar or wind turbine technology (again, would be nice if the solar installers had work too)
There’s no doubt that the clubs have the money. Sure, we could tax them to death, and watch the money waste away on idiot projects, or we can design the system to give a benefit to a wider variety of trades. Tax/permit credit for hiring local tradesmen and investing in their own green power.
Interesting. I like the prediction that pot industry will eventually resemble wine industry.
In terms of the de-criminalization fight, the writing is on the wall and the DA is doing a good job to help local law enforcement to step back a little. Its kind of like the patriot act and that seizure rule CA had a few years ago that allowed law enforcement to take things like cash, cars, houses etc without even waiting for a conviction.
It was a bad law, but became really, really useful and convenient for law enforcement and they couldn’t let go or even own up to the way it was being abused.
Same with patriot act and they way the feds have allowed themselves to trample on everyone’s privacy. Even though its diminished our rights and democracy, they won’t give it up or even talk about the abuse of it because its just too convenient a tool for them.
I think we all know that a majority of pot users are probably enjoying a recreational drug via a loophole (getting a medicinal marijuana card from a doctor who profits from issuing them easily.) There are, however, enough people that do validly benefit and need medical marijuana that I’d error on the side of liberal rather than strict enforcement.
Also, in terms of public menace type stuff, there is a lot of money in card rooms, real estate development, garbage contracts, ambulance contracts, private security contracts with off-duty officers, etc that I don’t think the pot clubs are really that bad. If you really want to partner on enforcement, work with IRS, Treasury and others to go after tax cheats (which is what you’d have with phony non-profits, right?).
Also, how about expanding ATF to include Marijuana. Make it a federal enforcement thing at the same time you decriminalize it. Maybe one of the local congressional reps could look into some legislation that would allow this.
The politicos want to change the name of the airport for a 4th time. Amway Global. since Chuck Reed is a buddy of Wolff for his baseball stadium. I’m sorry, a parking lot next to the train station since no public funds were to be used for a baseball stadium.
San Jose with the accent above the “e.” Self proclaimed Capitial of Silicon Valley, but it did not start in San Jose.
The pot clubs should run this city. The politicans don’t like the 125 pot clubs; then why on earth did they want us to vote in November that is was ok to tax them up to 10% of their gross income? Don’t know any business in the US that gets taxed on gross income. The dope money was to be used to fix things like potholes, because the money we pay for those sort of things goes in another direction.
Few minutes later the politicans say pay 7%. Then they say there are too many pot clubs. I now know who the dopes are.
Cheech & Chong International Airport. The pot clubs can set up business in there.
Organized crime is the only benefactor here.
Pot clubs should be banned outright.
The people who show up at Council committee meeting stating that they have cancer and need a few hits of purple haze to get by are as disengenuos as the proponwents that say, “Oh, look at the tax revenue we can fund libraries, parks and personal attendants to wipe our butts,”
I am not so impressed.
To these so admittedly healthy looking “cancer patients”, I say, “hurry up and die so you can decrease the surplus population”.
And before you pass away, don’t clog up Council committee meetings with your lobbying efforts for those that profit from these pot clubs at the expense of the truly sick, infirmed and dying.
The City of San jose shoulod follow the lead of SJPD and enforce an out right ban on all “pot clubs”.
David S. Wall