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Patients must have a safe, local means to get their medicine, says dispensary owner
By Hempology | January 14, 2008
The Tribune, CA
11 Jan 2008
Stephen Curran
POT DISPENSARY IN TEMPLETON GETS THE GREEN LIGHT FROM COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
Two Delays and Six Months Later, Planners Vote 3-2 to Allow the Controversial Shop to Open
It took nearly six months, but the county Planning Commission decided Thursday to allow a controversial medical marijuana dispensary to open in Templeton.
The 3-2 vote was the third attempt by commissioners to resolve the fate of the proposed North County Resource Center at 3850 Ramada Drive. The commission was deadlocked in July amid disagreement over whether the facility complied with a county ordinance that governs cannabis co-ops and postponed a decision again in October.
The verdict came as jurisdictions statewide remain uncertain about the legality of medical marijuana. The plant was approved for prescription use by California voters more than a decade ago but is prohibited under federal law.
About a dozen supporters addressed the commission, saying marijuana helped treat diseases including asthma, glaucoma and arthritis.
“Patients in our county must have safe, local means to get their medicine,” dispensary owner Austen Connella told commissioners. “… We would set an example as to how a dispensary can be a positive addition to San Luis Obispo County.”
Representatives for the Templeton Unified School District, Templeton Chamber of Commerce and Templeton Area Advisory Group told commissioners that the dispensary is a poor fit for the community.
Sheriff Pat Hedges, Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon and Atascadero police Chief Jim Mulhall also opposed, claiming such businesses invite drug-related crime.
“It’s not germane to the community,” chamber President Rob Rosales said of marijuana’s medicinal qualities. “I don’t think someone’s going to deny some 9-year-old terminally ill kid, but it goes to what the community wants.”
A county ordinance allows such facilities in unincorporated inland areas such as Templeton but prohibits them from operating in a downtown business district or within 1,000 feet of any school, library, playground, park or youth recreation area.
County planners initially told the commission the industrial park that would house the business was 1,004 feet from a park managed by the Templeton Oaks Homeowners Association.
But, when staffers measured a second time from the park’s closest boundary, they found it to be 925 feet from the planned dispensary. The park is across Highway 101 and would be about a mile drive from the dispensary.
Opponents have 14 days to appeal the commissioners’ decision to the county Board of Supervisors.
Commissioners Anne Wyatt, Penny Rappa and Sarah Christie voted in favor. Chairman Bob Roos, who lives in and represents Templeton, and Commissioner Eugene Mehlschau opposed.
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