By Khalida Sarwari
Medical marijuana regulation may still be a long way off for San Jose as the City Council stalled on making decisions on several issues at its meeting today, including coming up with a figure to cap the city’s collectives and the process of selecting the collectives.
The council voted 7-4, however, on establishing zoning districts for the collectives. But even that decision was not made easily, with Mayor Chuck Reed, and Councilmen Ash Kalra, Pete Constant, and Xavier Campos all dissenting because of a proposed amendment to include light industrial zones.
The zoning districts would allow collectives to operate in industrial parks or commercial zoning districts.
A second motion to establish a registration process by random lottery selection failed on a 4-6 vote, with Councilwoman Nancy Pyle absent. The dissenters included Campos, Kalra, Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen, and Councilmen Donald Rocha, Pierluigi Oliverio and Kansen Chu.
The registration process called for a term of one year, an application process fee of $4,975, and no vested right.
Council members could not reach an agreement on other ideas recommended in a report by city staff, including limiting the number of collectives to 10.
Rocha and Oliverio released a memo last week recommending a plan that would determine the number of collectives at a later time. In that memo, they also opposed the lottery process, saying that it would not necessarily single out the best of the collectives and would instead possibly award collectives that are not the most well run facilities.
City staff also suggested banning the sale of edible forms of marijuana, which Kalra strongly opposed.
The five-hour meeting included input from numerous medical marijuana supporters, many of them telling the council that while they support regulation, they want the right kind of regulation.
Laura Blair was among the 46 speakers — the majority of them being supporters — who addressed the council.
“Our members want to be regulated,” Blair said. “But they need those regulations to be consistent.”
Supporters appealed to the council to consider a larger cap on the maximum number of collectives. They said 10 is simply not enough considering the high demand and need for medical marijuana, and that furthermore, it would lead to Costco-sized collectives that would create parking and traffic complications.
Others asked the council to reconsider the registration process, and to make it cheaper and easier so that collectives do not go underground or leave the city.
Several people voiced their opposition against the lottery process, and some suggested that a cap should not be established at all.
“The idea that we shouldn’t put a cap on it, I don’t agree that we should be looking at that,” Councilwoman Rose Herrera said. “This is a policy decision that the council will have to make a decision on.”
The council batted around three figures — 10, 15, and then 30 — at which to cap the collectives, but could not reach a consensus. The question about the practicality and effectiveness of the lottery process was another discussion topic that seemed to divide the council.
Those issues and more will be discussed at the next council meeting on April 19.