Gilroy Planning Commission Just Says No to Cannabis

GILROY—While other California cities are bringing in revenue and helping patients with marijuana dispensaries and farms, Gilroy will continue to just say no.
Last week the planning commission recommended an ordinance prohibiting the sale, transport, processing and commercial cultivation of medical marijuana.
The crafting and passage of the law is timed to meet a state deadline for retaining local jurisdiction over medical marijuana. Under California’s Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which was passed earlier this year, local governments must explicitly regulate or prohibit the cultivation of medical marijuana by March 1, 2016. If they do not, the state will assume exclusive power to regulate the industry.
“If the city doesn’t strengthen the current laws we have on the books, then what we end up with is the state taking over,” said Police Captain Kurt Svardal. “And that’s what this is about: making sure we’re still having what our community wants.”
The ordinance would maintain local control over medical pot by extending the city’s existing ban on dispensaries and enhance the police department’s ability to bust large grow operations. The City Council will decide whether to enact the ordinance on Jan. 6.
The ordinance would not affect individual possession of small amounts and small-scale cultivation, which is legal under state law. Cities cannot override the 1996 Compassionate Use Act, which legalized medical marijuana in California.
A ban on cultivation would enable the city to stop illegal grow operations, Svardal said. The District Attorney’s office ultimately decides whether to take growers to court, and an explicit prohibition will help the police department make its case for prosecution.
Grow houses have been a public nuisance in Gilroy, Svardal said. The ones investigators encounter are not orderly cooperatives but illegal operations that illegal convert houses and steal power from PG&E, he said.
“The cases that we’ve worked have always been folks that are not from our community,” said Svardal. “They’re not part of our community. They’re simply setting up illegal grow operations, and I don’t think our community wants that kind of activity taking place.”