Proposed Placentia ordinance allowing marijuana dispensary draws opposition from Yorba Linda, school district leaders at City Council session

Another strong stand against allowing medical marijuana dispensaries within or adjacent to Yorba Linda's borders has been taken by this city's elected and appointed governmental and educational leaders.

Both the City Council and schools superintendent Doug Domene dispatched representatives to a recent Placentia City Council session to oppose an ordinance that would permit medical marijuana to be sold in a Rose Drive shopping center just outside Yorba Linda's westside limits.

Taking forceful statements to the neighboring city were Assistant City Manager Dave Christian and the school district's Director of Executive Services Richard McAlindin. Their voices, with dozens of other opponents, led Placentia's council to drop the plan previously approved 3-2.

An especially instructive statement was read by McAlindin, since Rose Drive Elementary School is within hailing distance of a potential marijuana storefront. As proposed, the law required any dispensary to be located within 1,000 feet of Placentia-Linda Hospital.

While noting a close partnership between the nearly 26,000-student school district and the city to ensure student safety by providing school resource officers and crossing guards for local campuses, McAlindin stated the district was “never consulted” on the marijuana matter.

Once school officials learned of the ordinance, McAlindin said, “We immediately contacted our assistant principals at all of our secondary schools and asked this question: Of the few students who are found in possession or under the influence of marijuana on our school campuses, what was the original source of the illegal drugs?”

According to McAlindin, the assistant principals indicated “more than 50 percent originated from medical marijuana dispensaries.” He noted, “While we do not experience many cases in our schools, we still have a responsibility to do what we can to minimize access.”

The city cited adverse effects – “increased traffic, noise, drug dealing, money laundering and firearms violations” – and warned that dispensaries “often do not comply with the operational requirements imposed,” resulting in “a multitude of disputes and litigation.”

The statement further stated the city “will take any and all actions to ensure that its citizens are protected to the extent possible from the impacts resulting from marijuana facilities you are allowing in such close proximity to Yorba Linda's boundaries.”

Despite state voter approval of medical marijuana in 1996, court rulings allow cities to ban or regulate sales and cultivation of the drug; thus, Yorba Linda prohibits all marijuana-related land uses, including dispensaries, deliveries and commercial cultivation.

The city's dispensary prohibition was adopted in 2006, with deliveries outlawed in January. A lone dispensary lasted less than a month in 2010, shuttering after the city began legal action, with owners surrendering their business license.