“I am dissatisfied with the council decision to support an ordinance that virtually no other city has,” said Timothy Aires, a resident and parent. “You have been tasked to craft an ordinance. Please take into account the interests of our young people and our families.”
Aires was distressed by the response of his 15-year-old daughter when told about the possible ordinance: “Cool!”
Resident Ross Embry saluted the girl’s reaction.
“Marijuana is not a gateway drug. It’s a good thing, not a bad thing,” said Embry, who identified himself as a longtime user living with AIDS.
People living with AIDS and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are among the champions of access to medical marijuana.
“I got into the field when my grandfather had bladder cancer,” said Sheridan Linehan, who has filed an application with the city to open a dispensary and rented offices.
Linehan said his maternal grandfather was losing weight because chemotherapy was making him nauseous and unable to eat.
“We heard about medical marijuana, and it helped him,” Linehan said. ”It improved his life before he passed. I have been studying it ever since.”
Linehan said his grandfather smoked marijuana and ate products laced with it.
City staff recommended barring edible products in dispensaries in Laguna, a position disputed by some advocates.
“Patients with respiratory problems find it easier to swallow than to smoke,” said Laguna Beach High School senior Will Armstrong.
The commission must also decide whether to recommend a ban on marijuana not grown on the site of the dispensary.
Linehan said on-site cultivation was essential in order to control the chemicals and additives to the marijuana and to simplify police oversight.
