Pismo Beach council decides not to ban mobile pot dispensaries
Mobile medical marijuana dispensaries are welcome in Pismo Beach, at least for the near future.
In a reversal of its Feb. 17 decision, the Pismo Beach City Council decided Tuesday not to pursue an ordinance amendment banning mobile marijuana dispensaries, tabling the issue indefinitely.
Because the council did not conduct a second reading Tuesday of the amendment that it had voted unanimously to introduce at its last meeting, a mobile dispensary could apply for and be given a business license to operate within Pismo Beach city limits.
The turnaround came after the council heard numerous comments from Pismo Beach residents Tuesday night.
The testimonials ranged from the straightforward — "I do not support this ban," wrote two meeting attendees who did not wish to speak but submitted handwritten notes to the council — to emotional stories about how medical marijuana has helped family members or the speakers themselves overcome a range of medical ailments.
Madeline Moore, who cares for her 94-year-old mother with dementia, said medical marijuana has been the only thing that relieves her mother's extreme anxiety.
"She was taking antidepressants — they were a nightmare," Moore said, noting that her mother was often violent while taking the medications, and was kicked out of several nursing homes and communities because of her unruliness. "The only time she has had some peace is when she is on medical marijuana. ... She has peace of mind now and can actually go out and function with her relatives. She's earned that."
Ernest Hall, who runs a mobile marijuana dispensary, Dub's Green Garden Collective out of Paso Robles, also asked the council to carefully consider its previous decision.
"As long as people need my help, I'm going to be there for them," said Hall, whose application for a business license set off a months-long debate in Paso Robles last year that culminated in the council allowing mobile dispensaries in that city. "Please don't make me a criminal for this."
Mayor Shelly Higginbotham previously told The Tribune the council was taking preliminary steps to ban mobile dispensaries until a time when marijuana use can once again be discussed at a state level — alluding to the possibility of a recreational marijuana use proposition hitting the statewide ballot in 2016.
Tuesday night, Higginbotham and Councilwoman Mary Ann Reiss both indicated they would prefer more regulation on mobile dispensaries at a city level.
The pair eventually conceded to the sentiments of council members Sheila Blake and Ed Waage, who said they were in favor of a mobile dispensary operating in the city as long as the police department did not report any incidents originating from the business.
"Deliveries have been going on undisturbed for as long as pot has been sold," Blake said. "If it has been getting delivered without any particular problem, I wonder why we should feel we need to legislate this now."
Councilman Erik Howell was absent from the meeting.
Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Pismo Beach all prohibit storefront medical marijuana dispensaries in their municipal codes, but only Arroyo Grande and Atascadero ban mobile dispensaries.
San Luis Obispo does not have an ordinance banning dispensaries; however, they are not listed as an approved use in the city’s municipal code and are therefore prohibited, according to city officials. The San Luis Obispo City Council rejected a ban on growing medical marijuana in the city in May 2014, in a vote that also would have prohibited mobile dispensaries.
In August 2014, the Paso Robles City Council set a precedent for mobile dispensaries to operate within city limits, after it failed to secure enough votes to pass a proposed ban. The council elected to take no further action on the issue.
This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Pismo Beach council decides not to ban mobile pot dispensaries."