Laserfiche WebLink
Mayor Manuel Pulido <br />June 30, 2014 <br />Page Two <br />should be regulations and controls on medical marijuana dispensaries, just as there are for <br />pharmacies and medical clinics, the controls must be within the law and must not be <br />discriminatory. Medical marijuana is puly for patients in California, Mayor Pulido. It is <br />important, as the Register article expresses, that the medication be available for those <br />patients. It is even more important that you not simply put law enforcement on the pedestal <br />it has occupied since the 9/11/2001 incident took place. Law enforcement is capable of and <br />does make errors. Police officers are not gods simply because they are engaged in the law <br />enforcement process. This weekend, Kyle Keegan of the Orange County Register reported <br />that many city police departments have failed to report police shootings. The police are <br />fallible and indeed do make errors — some officers are even bad people, Mayor. One of the <br />mistakes they have made is to discriminate against medical marijuana patients by <br />continuing to promulgate false information about dispensaries. As the Register editorial <br />accurately references, the UCLA study it discusses makes clear crime does not increase <br />around marijuana collectives. In fact, crime decreases. <br />The model ordinance I have included is something you can draw from and use to <br />create legislation that is fair and balanced. It is a way to ensure you are addressing the <br />needs of the patients as well as the responsibilities you have as leaders in Santa Ana. <br />Very truly yours, <br />qct <br />Matthew S. Pappas <br />MSP.jm <br />Encl. <br />