With Same “Thumbs Down” Result
By Susan Motander
The Monrovia City Council was set to prohibit mobile marijuana facilities and the delivery of medical marijuana by the second reading of a resolution it approved at its last meeting in December. At that meeting the council discussed the issue thoroughly and heard comments from several members of the public. Ultimately the resolution passed, but by a vote of 3 to2 with Council Members Gloria Crudgington and Alex Blackburn opposing.
The matter was set for approval on the Consent Calendar (those routine matters which normally require no discussion, such as the approval of minutes and payroll) and was pulled from that schedule along with another unrelated matter. Ultimately, after input from a few citizens, the chief of police, and the city attorney, and after further discussion by the members of the council, the matter was again approved with the vote being cast in the same manner.
Monrovia resident Chris Zeigler questioned the council’s initial approval of the ban requesting that they reconsider the issue. He pointed out the need, largely for marijuana deliveries. He stated that it would give “palliative care to the people who really need it” pointing out that these people were often the “loneliest and the one who most need this.”
In response to the comment made by Mayor Tom Adams at the last meeting pointing out that there was a medical marijuana dispensary in Covina and that residents could go there, Zeigler noted the debilitating effects of chemotherapy. He said that many people would not have the strength to go themselves and would need to rely on family and friends to do so. “Would you send your wife to a seedy community that is willing to accept a marijuana clinic?” Zeigler asked the mayor.
In requesting that the council revisit this issue, Zeigler pointed out that battles with cancer could also be prolonged and result in anxiety issue and other issues of depression.
Mayor Adams called upon Chief of Police Jim Hunt for his input on the issue, and Hunt immediately pointed out that he would give a law enforcement perspective on the issue. He noted that while the sale of marijuana is still illegal under federal law, enforcement by federal agencies have focused on large distributors which had been the major abusers of the system and the source of the majority of the problems including abuse of prescriptions.
The Chief also expressed hope that the legislature would pass new regulations that would resolve a great many of the problems with the distribution of medical marijuana, however, he also said that until those issues were resolved he felt that it was in the best interest of the city to retain control over whether or not mobile dispensaries would be allowed in the city. He also notes that even under existing laws, caregivers were allowed to deliver medical marijuana to “up to five people” without fear of legal action from the state.
City Attorney Craig Steel pointed out that the city would lose control this issue if the council did not act by March 1, and that the state would take over this regulation. He told the council it could revisit the issue if the legislature “makes the changes the Chief envisions.”
Blackburn reiterated his opposition again noting that the staff report had not presented “facts” and “data to support” its assertions that there were problems with medical marijuana deliveries. He called the presentation “anecdotal” and called for statistics.
Likewise Crudgington reiterated her opposition repeating her comment at the last meeting of “First, do no harm” from the Hippocratic Oath which all doctors take.
Ultimately, the vote on Tuesday was identical with that taken in December with Crudgington and Blackburn again opposing and Adams, and Council Members Larry Spicer, and Becky Shevlin voting Aye.
