Business partners want to start selling medicinal marijuana
MAIN STREET With bicycle parking, environmentally friendly eateries and a weekly Farmers’ Market, it’s little wonder why they call this strip of Santa Monica the “Green Light District.” In lieu of a tree to hug, it’s where “granola” gourmets go to seek out fresh, organically grown produce.
But if Nathan Hamilton and his business partner Logan Aries have their way, the trendy shopping district may soon be known for another type of green — marijuana.
Hamilton, 23, and Aries, 19, are looking to open a medical marijuana dispensary near the corner of Main and Pacific streets to serve at least 100 patients who must now drive or find another mode of transportation outside of the city to fill prescriptions.
The former real estate agents said they have satisfied conditions set by the county and the state, rented an office, invested roughly $14,000 and have established a nonprofit named SoCal Coop (www.socalcoop.com).
All they need now is a business license from City Hall.
However, that could prove difficult, given the reluctance of some city officials and the lack of any zoning codes that deal with the regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries.
“I’m not interested in it. I don’t think we need it in Santa Monica,” said Councilman Bob Holbrook, a pharmacist. “There are clinics as close as Venice and West LA. If people want to be prescribed marijuana, that’s fine, but why add a facility here when we already have so many issues to deal with?
“I don’t see it as a plus for our community... there are options for people out there.”
Mayor Richard Bloom said the dispensary was “not high on my list of priorities.”
Marijuana has been shown to ease HIV-related nerve pain and reduce vomiting and nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy, however, its medical benefits are heavily disputed.
Hamilton and Aries went before the City Council earlier this week to plead their case and ask for elected officials to look into creating a process for marijuana dispensaries to operate within Santa Monica. The council instructed staff to look at the books to see if a dispensary could be included in the medical offices category permitted under current zoning or if a new business category would have to be created.
City staff has given no indication as to when the issue would come back before the council for consideration.
“We wanted to do something that was going to give back to the community, so we started this non-profit and we looked at locations where there was a need. Santa Monica had an overwhelming amount of patients and no dispensaries,” said Hamilton, who has a family member who is prescribed marijuana. “When the voters passed (Measure Y) in November 2006, which makes marijuana the lowest law enforcement priority, I thought this city would be favorable to the idea.”
Measure Y made adult personal marijuana use the lowest priority for the Santa Monica Police Department. Additionally, the measure requires the City Clerk to annually send letters to congress members and senators representing Santa Monica voters, to the governor and to the President of the United States requesting that the state and federal governments enact similar laws.
The measure passed with 65 percent of the vote, according to the city clerk’s office.
Since 56 percent of California voters passed Proposition 215 —the Compassionate Use Act — in 1996, allowing the sale of marijuana to patients with a prescription, cities from Berkeley to West Hollywood to Los Angeles have passed laws allowing marijuana dispensaries to operate within their boundaries. SB 420, which took effect in 2004, clarified Proposition 215, and taken together, legalized possession and cultivation of marijuana for qualified medical patients.
Americans for Safe Access (ASA) — the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research — has been fighting to keep clinics open as federal officials continue to put pressure on dispensary operators to shut down.
While medical marijuana is permitted by the state, federal law still considers it a dangerous, illegal drug.
Last month federal authorities raided 11 such clinics in Los Angeles and West Hollywood, seizing several thousand pounds of processed drugs, hundreds of marijuana plants, an array of guns and bagfuls of cash. Five dispensaries in West Hollywood were raided along with others in Venice, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills.
Locally, there is some concern about safety and whether or not a dispensary would attract crime given the large quantities, sometimes up to 8 pounds, of marijuana located at a dispensary for patients.
Jenna Linnekens, a resident who ran for City Council in the last municipal election, urged the council to nix the dispensary notion within city limits.
“The city is ill-prepared for the consequences of such an action,” Linnekens said. “Although there has been legislation passed to allow the use of medical marijuana, the government has failed to regulate marijuana.”
The SMPD could not be reached for comment.
Chris Fusco, a county coordinator for ASA, said fears about crime are unwarranted. He said having dispensaries lowers crime because it allows patients to obtain their medication from a licensed dispensary with qualified medical staff on site who can provide guidance and security. Without these clubs, patients would be forced hit the streets and try and score weed from drug dealers.
“There is no reason why regulations can’t be developed to properly ensure that only qualified patients can receive marijuana,” said Fusco, who cites laws in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and other cities that determine how much marijuana can be made available, what hours the business can operate and what employees must go through to be properly screened.
“This isn’t a question of whether or not we should or shouldn’t,” Fusco added. “This is the law. We need to implement this because people are not getting the medicine they need.”
Fusco said ASA has more than 100 members from Santa Monica who depend on marijuana to help them cope with their illnesses.
Whether or not a dispensary would be a good fit for Main Street is up for debate. Gary Gordon of the Main Street Merchants Association said members have not discussed the dispensary, but have traditionally been open to businesses that are allowed under the law, including nail shops and a lingerie store that went out of business. “(Main Street) is the green light district,but I think we are talking about a different kind of green,” Gordon said. “I’m sure there are some people who are in favor and some who would be appalled by it, but if the marijuana business is anything like it used to be, they certainly would be able to afford the rent.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 16, 2007. Read the original PDF.