Arroyo Grande to roll out looser medical marijuana laws

Arroyo Grande is considering softening its hard-line stance on medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries, following an emotional meeting Tuesday night in which one resident with a neuromuscular disease brought the City Council to tears with his plea to increase access to the drug so he can “die in comfort.”

Devin Ward, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2015, spoke before the council on Tuesday night as it deliberated whether to loosen its bans on medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries.

ALS is an untreatable neuromuscular disease that causes muscular atrophy, weakness and eventually paralysis. Most people only live between two and three years after being diagnosed.

“I will lose the use of my hands, the ability to walk, talk and breathe, and then I will die,” Ward said before a rapt council. “Medical cannabis gives me great relief from these symptoms, and it allows me to die in comfort.”

Ward said the council’s decisions in recent years to restrict access to medical marijuana have made it difficult for him to obtain the drug, and have forced him to travel to other cities and meet delivery drivers in parking lots to get the only thing that helps ease his symptoms.

“Who here would support my desire to use medical marijuana to die in comfort?” Ward asked at the end of his speech.

The dozen residents in the audience raised their hands, to which Ward responded: “I think you see what needs to be done.”

Ward’s words visibly moved the council, with Councilman Tim Brown wiping tears from his face during his response.

“We wouldn’t even be doing this or talking about this if it wasn’t for you,” Brown said to Ward. “This is not something we would be doing as a council. So when you leave here tonight, regardless of the outcome, understand: We believe your life matters.”

The city, which was among the first in the county to ban mobile dispensaries in 2012, came under fire from several residents in February for its decision to also ban all cultivation of medical marijuana within city limits — making it difficult for patients to access what they say is a necessary drug to relieve a range of medical conditions.

Arroyo Grande joined other cities in the county — Atascadero, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and Morro Bay — in drafting complete bans in a rushed effort to retain local control after a state deadline made it advisable for California cities to pass ordinances on medical marijuana cultivation, or lose the ability to regulate it in the future.

The bans have been widely criticized for conflicting with the state’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which made some limited at-home cultivation of medical marijuana legal.

The state deadline has since been removed, and several cities, Arroyo Grande among them, are now reconsidering what were perceived as hasty bans.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Arroyo Grande City Council directed staff to draft a new ordinance that would allow some limited cultivation within the city limits. Qualified residents would be able to grow on up to 50 square feet, though the number of plants could be limited to six mature and 12 immature plants. The existing ordinance — banning all cultivation — will remain in effect until the new regulations are approved.

The decision was similar to that of the Atascadero City Council on Feb. 9.

Tuesday night’s meeting also marked a significant shift in the Arroyo Grande council’s stance on dispensaries.

The city banned brick-and-mortar dispensaries in 2008, and followed that up with a ban on mobile dispensaries in 2012. Officials at the time attributed both decisions to discrepancies in state and federal law — the latter prohibits marijuana use even for medical purposes.

Though that question still remains, the council on Tuesday indicated that it would be in favor of allowing mobile and physical dispensaries to operate in the city, if the right regulations could be drafted.

“My thinking on this is evolving,” Councilman Jim Guthrie said. “My thought here is that I definitely don’t want to be on the leading edge of this, but this is a subject that is sharp on both sides. You don’t want to be on the trailing edge either.”

After about an hour-and-a-half of discussion on the topic, the council directed staff to return with new regulations that would allow mobile dispensaries to operate in the city as long as drivers undergo background checks and were permitted by the city, like taxi services. The staff was also directed to return in the future with information on the possibility of allowing a physical dispensary.

The new regulations — both for cultivation and for mobile dispensaries — will need to go before the city Planning Commission and the City Council to be implemented.

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Arroyo Grande to roll out looser medical marijuana laws."