City officials are actively seeking the public's opinion on medical marijuana dispensaries. There are currently none located in Santa Monica, but there are certainly interested parties who would like to set up shop.
So, this week's Q-Line question asks:
Do you think dispensaries should be allowed in town, and if so, where and under what guidelines?
Here are your responses:
"A pot dispensary can be set up in City Council Chambers to help wean council members, city officials and consultants off the crack they habitually seem to be smoking. Also, members of the public who often seriously have to consider lobotomies after leaving City Council meetings would be able to leave meetings now with a euphoric, pain free, Mad Magazine Alfred E. Neuman-type of high."
"The answer is no. We do not need any. It is still an illegal substance in the United States and there are too many people who smoke pot, drive and kill people. We need to make Santa Monica a smoke-free city all around; no smoking of cigarettes or pot. Hopefully that can be done within the next five years."
"Absolutely, Santa Monica should allow dispensaries. As a middle-aged woman, I use it to control menopause symptoms and heartily recommend other women do, too. There is nothing like a good night's sleep. No hot flashes, no night sweats, better sleep, better spirit and no grouchiness! Life is good again. Although I am happy using my Venice dispensary, other people may find it too difficult to get to and can't Santa Monica use the tax revenue?"
"Legalize it, don't criticize it. The L.A. zoning laws for pot shops have put many of them in unsafe areas for the sick and old who are walking with cash to buy their medicine. Please allow them in safer areas like the Santa Monica Place, Montana Avenue and Main Street. They should also allow all pharmacies to sell pot. Pharmacies are already set up to sell drugs and check IDs. Next election we can legalize it like Washington and Colorado."
"Lordy, lordy, lordy. I don't know why the city of San Malicious would not want to set up marijuana labs. After all, aren't we a famous city of these here United States? Other states have done away with marijuana laws or strictures. I don't know why we can't. I think it'd be an excellent idea. Let's make it legal. That way, it'll ease up the burdens for our police. I think it'd be a great idea to lessen the severity because there's too many people holed up in jail. For what? Sometimes it's good for you. I never got high on it. I don't particularly care for marijuana. Never have. But I do like cocaine, as long as you do it judiciously."
"I think that we should not have any stores of any kind like this; no dispensaries. It seems somewhat hypocritical to me that every place in Santa Monica you're discouraging smoking and all of a sudden, you're gonna have stores that have places where you can buy marijuana and people can smoke it. Smell from marijuana is much more objectionable than the general smoking. So I think that we should just eliminate it all."
"Absolutely I think dispensaries should be allowed in Santa Monica. The California state law provides for this for medicinal purposes. You can also tax it. That will help the city's revenues, and they're so concerned about that. This would be an excellent way for them to recoup those monies."
"I think their doctors should be the ones dispensing it out to people, not setting up shops. Like I said, I think doctors and hospitals should dispense it out. Some people are allergic to it, like me and my family; by the smell of it."
"This city is already a big drug dispensary. They come from far and wide to ply their trade. And our new army of residents are delighted to have them with us. So now, the plan is to make it easier for this lowlife to drop in and receive their fix. I think you could count on one hand citizens that are duped or fooled into believing that these pot shops are the latest thing in pharmacies. Just ask some of the good citizens of L.A. where these pot-selling stores are out of control and what horrors it has brought to their neighborhoods. You can buy fake prescriptions on any corner. And the stinking marijuana is just a front for the hard stuff. The police are already overwhelmed dealing with these drug addicts. And the consequent crimes — the least of which is impaired drivers behind the wheel, with or without a license. It's the new population in this city that is causing all the horrors. The city is a disaster and growing worse. Look and smell around. These pot-smelling cruds are already all over. It's nauseating. And they're all sick and need medicine, right? Yeah, who's gonna believe that?"
"I do not believe there needs to be marijuana dispensaries in the city of Santa Monica. There are plenty just on the other side of the city dividing lines; example west Los Angeles and Venice. And while it may be one of Santa Monica law enforcement's lowest priorities, we do not need to make more accessibility to drugs for our youth. Marijuana is not an innocuous substance, it is a gateway drug that only kills motivation in its users and productivity. We can talk about the crime that could be around it, but, in short, there is plenty of accessibility to this drug and it does not have to be in our small town of Santa Monica."
"‘Medical' marijuana is a hoax. There is no proven medical use for marijuana, and it is just an excuse for people to have a legitimate reason to get stoned. The ‘Kush Doctors' are happy to sell the drug, and even will testify for you in court if necessary. Santa Monica doesn't need more druggies walking around the town."
"Sales tax from dispensaries operating in Santa Monica will replace a portion of the cuts that our deficit will require of us. Currently Santa Monicans are sending millions a year to the city of Los Angeles in the form of sales tax for the dispensaries catering to Santa Monica that line our eastern and southern borders. What mystifies me is the agonizing over the location of dispensaries. I agree that retail businesses require sensible zoning regulation, but what is the logic behind not locating them in the vicinity of churches, parks, or schools? What possible harm could a legal retail outlet do to a nearby church? I live near Roosevelt Elementary School. Just 75 feet from their playground is a Vons, which displays thousands of wine and liquor bottles along with cartons of beer, which children are free to handle and examine. The front of the store is where they market tobacco. A pharmacy occupies the opposite corner from the school and, like all pharmacies, sells countless medications that are addictive and/or have fatal overdose levels, and are used recreationally in addition to their legitimate use. Children walking west on Montana after school walk by an Italian restaurant where they can observe adults drinking wine at sidewalk tables. Children walking home east on Montana frequently stop in a liquor store to get an after-school treat. Does all this mean the children of Roosevelt are doomed to be drug addicts, chain smokers, and alcoholics? Will lung cancer or a Vicodin overdose end their lives because there was a pharmacy or a grocery store in the neighborhood where they went to school? Have liquor, tobacco, and pharmaceutical sales near a church caused a wave of atheism to engulf Santa Monica? Are churches in our town going out of business? Like it or not, marijuana is part of our culture and it's here to stay."
