South Berkeley residents have waited too long for the city to resolve their concerns about a potentially illegal medical marijuana operation.
The allegations residents made against Perfect Plants Patients’ Group, also known as 3PG, are serious. Recently, the city has been looking into whether the facility, located on Sacramento Street, is within a legal distance from Longfellow Middle School. In addition, residents claim that other illicit activities are occurring nearby, such as alleged street sales and underage youth smoking marijuana. City officials must determine the validity of these assertions as soon as possible.
Yet local bureaucracy seems to be inhibiting a timely resolution. The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board declared the business in violation of city code in September and then, earlier this month, recommended that the City Council terminate the business and investigate whether to declare it a public nuisance.
The local community has indicated that this has been a major concern to them for months, and it seems like action is moving too slowly.
Contention over the business’ operations stretches back far longer than the past few months, however. City staff first told the business in a letter last December that it was “dispensing medical marijuana in a non-residential zoning district,” which is illegal. The letter seems to be an attempt to address confusion over whether the establishment is operating as a collective or a dispensary — a distinction that comes with separate zoning regulations.
Now, the council has less than 60 days to conduct a hearing on the matter. It needs to use due diligence to determine whether claims voiced by local residents are accurate and then act accordingly. Residents need to feel that their city is listening to them.
It’s concerning that the issue has dragged on for nearly one year with few substantial results. The city must resolve the uncertainty and confusion surrounding Perfect Plants Patient’s Group.
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We keep hearing about “legalizing marijuana for recreational use”, but what it really appears to be is an attempt to legalize marijuana as a far safer alternative to alcohol.
According to the CDC, alcohol kills 80,000 people every year in the U.S. while marijuana kills none, and marijuana’s addiction potential is only about that of coffee.
Since marijuana is far safer and far less addictive than alcohol, we could GREATLY reduce the amount of harm and addiction in society by giving people the right to switch from the more harmful drug, alcohol, to the less harmful drug, marijuana. Currently, paranoid old men keep marijuana illegal and make our children LESS safe!
Possibly so, but what does that have to do with an illegal dispensary doing business in a neighborhood already plagued by drug dealing and crime?
Go ahead and decriminalize pot–I’m for that. But in the meantime this establishment is not doing the neighborhood any favors. It’s illegal–not just because it’s dealing in a controlled substance (come on now, “medical dispensary”? What a joke!), but because it’s located too close to a school.
I lived near the Sacramento/Ashby intersection for 9 years. I know what that neighborhood’s like, and what the good people who live there have to put up with. This place needs to be closed down.
Suppliers fill the demand of consumers. If you close down this (questionably) legal store you will *not* make this demand for marijuana go away. So where will these people turn to for weed when the store is gone? The street of course! The result of closing down this store will be to entice *more* drug dealers and therefore *more* crime into the area. That is counterproductive!!
Last weekend I saw a mall with a cigar shop and a kid’s bouncy castle place within a few yards of each other. Nobody cared even though tobacco kills 400,000 people every year in the U.S. while marijuana kills none. Why do we care if this marijuana store is close to a school when the store *cards* its customers thus preventing the school kids from being able to shop there? And if you think the drug dealers who’ll take over when the store closes down will card their customers then you’d be mistaken. I think the kids might be *hoping* that you’ll close down the store!
City Attorney Zach Cowan could have resolved this matter simply and directly last Sept when the city’s police dept and planning dept were first notified about an illegal dispensary in violation of numerous local zoning codes and state and federal law. Berkeley adopted a regulatory ordinance for medical pot, the city claims they regulate dispensaries, and like so many broken aspects of local government there is no regulating or administrative action, just a bunch of bureaucrats getting fat and lazy. This is a code enforcement problem, very simple, very direct.
It took me all of ten minutes to get answers from Oakland ‘s permit dept and the same 10 minutes to speak with a staff member from the nuisance abatement dept to explain that cities administrative law process to shut down illegal dispensaries.
Until last week, NO one from Berkeley city hall would answer basic questions.
Nov 13 the council will undoubtedly declare the business a nuisance due to zoning code violations. This is a NO Brainer. The real test is Nov 14, what legal action will the city of Berkeley initiate forcing the property owners to evict the illegal tenant.
Of the many ironies in this mess, one stands out, in 2004 neighborhood association was covertly contacted by the city manager’s office and asked to block a dispensaries from relocating onto Sacramento St. The city recognized the inherent public health and safety conflicts. Americans for Safe Access med pot kingpin Don Duncan assisted in the discussion with CBCB, Duncan acknowledged that dispensaries should not be placed in high crime neighborhoods.
Kriss Worthington has placed resolution in the Nov 13 council packet requesting Berkeley authorize its city attorney to assist Oakland is protecting its permitted dispensaries for federal enforcement. He praises Oakland for its competent med pot regulatory system. Kriss is running for Mayor, yet he thinks our neglectful city attorney (long documented record of neglect and failure protecting the rights of south Berkeley neighborhoods) should spend our tax dollars helping Oakland.
WTF