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Council eyes moratorium on marijuana dispensaries

Ian Thompson Daily Republic

Fairfield, CA June 18, 2005 -- Fairfield City Councilmembers will vote Tuesday on whether to impose a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in Fairfield, at least until the city figures out how to regulate them.

Fairfield planners were spurred to ask for the moratorium after the city got several inquiries in the past year from people interested in setting up a medical marijuana dispensary in town.

"People were asking whether we permitted medical marijuana facilities and where we would permit them," said Eve Somjen, Fairfield assistant director of planning.

Fairfield has no zoning ordinance or regulations on place pertaining to medical marijuana.

"We need to have a moratorium while we evaluate what kind of ordinance we need," Somjen said. "We need to see what other cities are doing."

Fairfield wants to step carefully, according to a memo to the City Council. Allowing dispensaries in town without regulating them could harm surrounding development and pose a risk to residents, it said.

California voters passed the first state law allowing sick people to use marijuana for medical purposes. It is one of 11 states that allow some use of medical marijuana.

Fears the dispensaries would lead to abuse and increase crime has prompted five cities in the state to impose a ban. Another 47 counties and cities have imposed moratoriums on new dispensaries, according to a marijuana advocacy group in Oakland, Americans for Safe Access.

"There is definitely a trend toward adopting temporary bans," said Khris Hermes, legal campaign director for Americans for Safe Access. "We are not afraid to say it is punitive and hurts patients, taking away their access to free medicine."

But if it is temporary and ends in "sensible and reasonable regulations," Hermes said, "we welcome the deliberation."

Seventeen cities and counties have established ordinances regulating the conduct of dispensaries, the nearest one being Dixon, which passed an ordinance in July 2004.

Six cities imposed permanent bans. Hermes' group is taking legal action against Fresno and is considering expanding that effort against other cities.

One of the cities is San Francisco, whose board of supervisors last month approved a six-month ban on new dispensaries after city health officials figured the city had at least 43 unregulated dispensaries.

The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the issue earlier this month when it upheld federal authority over marijuana, even in states where it can be used for medical purposes.

The Fairfield City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Fairfield City Council chamber at 1000 Webster St.