Setting a stage for study

Valley News

Given that it has taken years for medical practitioners to better understand the properties of marijuana — and even longer for most lawmakers — what chance do Solvang city officials have of figuring it out in a few weeks?

That seems a reasonable question in view of the City Council’s passage of an urgency ordinance validating a marijuana ban within city limits.

The council’s motive becomes more apparent considering that Proposition 64 on the Nov. 8 ballot gives voters the opportunity to decide if legalizing the recreational use of marijuana is OK. In a very real way, the council vote puts the city in a position down the road to make significant decisions on the marijuana issue.

Solvang already had an ordinance on the books prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation, but allowing the delivery of medical marijuana to qualified patients under the Compassionate Use Act.

The council’s quickie move took effect with the vote, which is allowed under state law, when an urgency is perceived. The urgency in this case seems to be the likely passage of Prop. 64. The Public Policy Institute of California reported last spring that polls indicate 60 percent of voters likely to participate in the Nov. 8 election favor passage of Prop. 64.

Meanwhile, the council’s urgency enactment gives local officials time to research and study all the ramifications of Prop. 64 winning voter approval, a prudent approach.

But that’s when the situation changes. With passage of Prop. 64, the city will be required to revise the Municipal Code to bring it into conformance with state law, which means city officials will need to create a system of regulating and taxing the marijuana businesses in its jurisdiction.

So, in effect, the council’s urgency move simply buys the city some time to work out a game plan to accommodate the legalization of marijuana use. There obviously will be implications for both policy makers and law enforcement agencies.

Solvang is not alone in the creation of urgency bans. More than 260 California cities have approved bans on dispensaries and/or cultivation since the beginning of this year.

Marijuana legalization clearly is not a one-size-fits-all situation. But this nation and its citizens have come a long way since the “Reefer Madness” days in a film characterizing marijuana users as depraved maniacs.

It has been made abundantly clear the medical uses of marijuana have only just begun to be understood and appreciated. The evidence presented so far of the weed’s medical benefits have converted many former critics of its use and legalization. Perhaps most compelling are the results marijuana can have on people with seizure maladies, and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, especially combat veterans.

But like alcohol, what can help some can cause irreparable damage to others. In that sense, marijuana can be a high risk to young people, especially those whose personalities are still taking substance and form.

The national trend seems to favor marijuana legalization. Several states have either made recreational use legal, or decriminalized it significantly. This shift in public policy is too new to produce long-term results, but like most any policy transformation, there likely will be pros and cons.

At least one benefit we can see is that the medical community will finally have the chance to do in-depth studies of marijuana, and perhaps find some answers to lingering questions.

We believe the move made by the Solvang City Council boils down to keeping an open mind, and giving everyone an opportunity to look at both the pros and the cons.