To the editor:
I attended the City Council Technical Review meeting on July 15. An interesting fact
came out of that meeting. There are only 30 – 50 people in Mesquite with cards for
medical marijuana. This represents less than a quarter of 1%. That means that the City
Council is contemplating ordinances which effect 100% of our population, but which
would only possibly help less than 1%.
As stated in the local papers after the Technical Review meeting on June 24, the proposed
ordinances for dealing with medical marijuana would be on the July 22 City Council
meeting agenda. I was surprised when I read in the paper that at the City Council
meeting on July 8, the council voted to delay any decisions about medical marijuana for
six months. Then lo and behold the next day there is another article which said that
during the night two of our city council members changed their minds. Then on July 15,
the City Council voted to put the medical marijuana ordinances on the agenda again for
the City Council meeting on July 22.
It appears to me that the City Council is doing its best to NOT get input from the citizens
and taxpayers of Mesquite. A delay of 6 months would allow our vacationing citizenry a
chance to get informed about the new ordinances and what they will mean to them. I
believe the City Council should vote for a 6 month delay to hold more public forums and
get public input.
It is very troubling that once our City Council either accepts or declines an issue it really
isn’t decided at all. This isn’t the first time either. Remember recently how the City
Council voted down a proposal for a splash-pad. The next day out-going mayor Mark
Weir vetoed it causing it to be changed to its passage. Even though the city attorney says
all of these machinations are legal, they certainly are not ethical.
Jacqueline Humfeld Dietrich
Mesquite
It doesn’t matter if only 1% of the population has a Marijuana medical necessity card. these people who are in need of this health benefiting, none additive drug should be obtain this medicine free of hassle or extensive travel.
I don’t understand the need to have part time residents present to decide whether or not to provide a medical service to residents of Mesquite. If you have doubts about the efficacy of marijuana as a medical treatment please use the Internet to learn about it.
Since even part-time residents pay property taxes, aren’t they allowed as much say in their local governance as full-time residents. Property owners pay the same property taxes whether full-time or part-time.
All the residents of Mesquite, whether full-time or part-time, will be effected by these ordinances. And as such they should have the opportunity to weigh-in on these ordinances. While I support medical marijuana in principle, I want to see the real-world effects it has on other communities before we plow ahead. In the meantime, there is relief for people who need it. The law already allows them to grow their own or go buy it from other dispensaries in the state.
Where will it be sold? Will one be able to get it from Smith’s, Walmart and Walgreens? If not, why not? They are allowed to dispense other prescriptions. Where will people be allowed to smoke or consume their marijuana edibles? The proposed ordinance only states that it can’t be ingested or smoked on the premises. Does this mean that wherever one can smoke tobacco, one can smoke marijuana? How will a law enforcement officer know if someone has a valid prescription or whether they are operating a vehicle while impaired? What scientific test will be applied rather than the judgement of the officer? How will medical marijuana effect our children? Will this encourage them to smoke it themselves? If this is, as you state, a medical service maybe it should only be smoked or eaten in a medical facility with trained and highly qualified medical personnel present?
I’m sure you have seen the billboards in Las Vegas for Dr. Reefer. In California getting a prescription for medical marijuana is a joke. Have any pain anywhere in your body? Are you stressed? Here’s your prescription. Maybe we should make it more difficult to get in order to have only those who truly need it get it.
All of these question, and many more, need to be answered. This will take time and that is why I want a delay for further discussion and fact-finding.
Ms.Dietrich,
You could not be more wrong on this issue. First, there is no such thing as a 6 month delay. If the City does not put the ordinance in place by 8/5 this year, it will be DEAD for a year (because the only State period fro submitting license applications is 8/5 through 8/17. If a potential vendor does not have their application in now, they won’t even be able to submit again until next August. Craig Hafen and mark Weir know this and that is why they want the delay – to effectively KILL it. Second, there has been 12 years to “study this, and over a year since the State Law was enacted. The City should NOT punish people in need of medicine nor potential businesses just because a couple of our “leaders” and other mid-level City employees have ideology driven objections to this particular type of medication. Do you also know that there are also licenses available for “grow” facilities and processing facilities, in addition to a dispensary? And there are a couple of companies who want to locate these indoor and secure facilities in our industrial area – one of which could provides as many as 140 good paying jobs? A “delay” would eliminate these opportunities for Mesquite and we “lose out” again because of our ineptness and backward thinking!
Regarding the Council votes, as you point out, there was a schedule to get input, etc – but Hafen pulled a surprise action by making a motion to “delay” (read as “kill”) and it passed almost out of surprise and confusion. When a couple of the people who voted for the delay, they recognized the enormous impact and harm and scheduled a new vote.to move forward as originally planned, just a couple of weeks later because of the delay This was the CORRECT thing to do and I applaud them.
Get the facts, understand the issues, and then you will support their action. “Delay” sounds harmless, but in this case “delay” means “dead” and we should not allow personal ideology of a few to cost us again!
The above comments are absolutely correct. So what if only 1% of the population benefits. What if we refused to allow chemo-therapy to residents because they only “represent” 1% of the population, or refused medical treatment for rare diseases because only 1% were infected. What an illogical, uneducated and cold-hearted response. Medical marijuana was legalized many years ago. How much more study do we need, another 10 years? As far as the “vacationing” population, they don’t live here year round so who cares what they want. The permanent residents are the ones who care about this. community. Let’s hear what they want.
Prohibition has never worked and today, we are essentially financing the drug cartels in South America. When we will ever learn?
Mick, You have no idea what this will do to your community. Wake up and take a look at what is happening around the country where this crap has been made legal… Medical or not, this will ruin Mesquite and will draw in the kind of people who will be a cancer for our city. It wont take long at all before you are after Law Enforcement to fix your problems, all of which you asked for!!!!!!!!!!