The National City City Council on Tuesday night unanimously voted to draft an ordinance to prohibit the cultivation of marijuana.
The decision went against the Planning Commission’s Nov. 23 recommendation that the council adopt an ordinance to regulate the cultivation of medical marijuana. The Planning Commission recommended this in a 4-3 vote.
City staff, however, suggested that the council ban medicinal marijuana cultivation because there wasn’t enough time to draft an ordinance addressing regulation before a state-imposed deadline. They said they felt additional time was needed to research potential effects of recent legislation and to fully vet other ordinances to use them as a framework for the city of National City.
National City, along with other cities across the state, needs to pass a cultivation ordinance by March 1, if not it will be up to the state to regulate it.
On Oct. 9, Gov. Jerry Brown approved the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which establishes comprehensive statewide licensing and regulations for commercial medical marijuana activity that respect local control, protect patients, promote public safety and preserve the environment.
National City’s land use code did not specifically regulate or prohibit the cultivation of medical marijuana, so the council had to amend the code to meet one of the requirements.
Most public speakers did not support regulation because they said it would lead to bigger problems such as increased crime, easier access for teenagers and become a public nuisance.
Cynara Velasquez, representing the Association of Cannabis Professionals, said National City should regulate cultivation for medical use and not commercial use.
“What is here today is simply the question, are we going to continue to allow a single person who’s a qualified patient for their own use to be able to pursue his own activity in the privacy of their own home, and I hope the answer is yes.”
Despite Velasquez’s comments, Councilwoman Alejandra Sotelo Solis spoke in favor of a cultivation ban.
“Here in the city of National City we’ve been working extremely hard as a community to change the image of National City,” she said. “There’s a lot of nicknames out there for our community and we have a lot of very positive things going for us.”
Mayor Ron Morrison agreed with Sotelo Solis that National City has come a long way to change its reputation and that allowing medical marijuana cultivation would mean taking a step in the wrong direction.
National City Police Chief Manuel Rodriguez also opposed regulation of medicinal marijuana because he said he would have to create another unit to monitor regulation, which would be a problem because the police department is short staffed.
He also said allowing the regulation of marijuana cultivation will most likely affect the quality of life for residents.
Velasquez said she wasn’t surprised to see the council vote the way they did. She said it’s the National City patients who need medicinal marijuana who are the ones left suffering.
“I think it’s sad,” she said.
