Proposed Modesto marijuana ordinance sent back for more work

Modesto officials’ effort to regulate those who grow medical marijuana is not quite ready for prime time.

That was the judgment rendered Monday night by the city’s Planning Commission, which declined to endorse a proposed marijuana cultivation ordinance and forward it to the City Council for possible adoption.

Commissioners voted 7-0 for city officials to revise the ordinance and bring it back to them for further review. They were concerned that the proposed ordinance would inadvertently harm those who legitimately grow and use medical marijuana.

The Police Department and City Attorney’s Office have been developing the ordinance, which would prohibit growing marijuana in backyards and other outdoor locations. The ordinance would restrict marijuana cultivation to inside single-family homes or secure detached structures, such as garages.

Cultivation would be limited to 50 square feet and could not take place in homes where children live. And marijuana could not be grown within 1,000 feet of a school, park or day care facility.

Police Sgt. Kelly Rea, who oversees the Modesto Narcotics Enforcement Team, has said the ordinance was created to address the problems associated with outdoor cultivation, from the noxious smell when the plants are in bloom to the potential for the plants to attract children and criminals. He told commissioners that much of the drug crime in Modesto is associated with marijuana. He added that the Modesto area also has seen homicides linked to marijuana.

More than two dozen people attended the meeting, and about a half-dozen spoke against the proposed ordinance. No one spoke in favor of it.

The speakers included a woman who grows a few plants in her backyard, two fathers who say their young sons’ suffering is lessened through the use of a nonintoxicating oil extracted from the marijuana plant and a man who ran a medical marijuana dispensary in Modesto. The city has banned dispensaries for several years.

Speakers said police need to focus attention on criminals who grow marijuana for profit and not the legitimately sick or their caregivers. They added that the ordinance would place a financial burden on some people because of the high cost of growing marijuana indoors.

“The people you are trying to go after already are criminals,” said Mike Reynolds, who with his wife purchases a marijuana oil to control their 18-month-old son’s seizures. “You also are including all the people who are trying to do it the right way.”

One speaker said legalization is coming.

For instance, the Los Angeles Times reported that the federal budget passed by Congress over the weekend contains a provision that in states where medical marijuana is legal – including California – federal agents would be prohibited from raiding medical marijuana dispensaries. The newspaper calls this a major shift in federal drug policy. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the budget this week.

And the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project has announced that it will be working with others to place a measure on California’s 2016 ballot that calls for regulating marijuana like alcohol.

The planning commissioners acknowledged that too many people get medical marijuana cards while not having a legitimate need and that the police need the tools to combat drug crime and violence. But some commissioners also were perplexed by the proposed ordinance. There was a disconnect between the photos they were shown by the police of huge marijuana grows overflowing in backyards and what they were hearing from the speakers.

The commissioners asked that the ordinance be revised to include such exemptions as allowing children to live in the home when the child or a parent is a qualified medical marijuana user and allowing some people to grow marijuana outdoors when warranted, though Commissioner Steve Carter said he has strong reservations against outdoor growing.

City officials did not have a timeline for when the revised ordinance will come back to the commission. If the commission endorses it, the revised ordinance will go to the City Council for consideration. .

This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Proposed Modesto marijuana ordinance sent back for more work."