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.