The San Benito County Board of Supervisors this week made the correct decision to reverse its decision to ban all outdoor, legal medical marijuana in the county in a 4-1 vote with Supervisor Barrios representing the lone, dissenting vote.
As a Stage 3 cancer survivor, I questioned the Board at the September 22 public meeting about its original proposed ordinance if, in fact, the ad hoc subcommittee consisting of Supervisors Barrios and Botelho had solicited the opinion of people sick and/or dying who may benefit from medical marijuana and what potential impact the proposed ordinance may have to those constituents by their elected representatives. Sadly, they did not. However, eventually the board did make that consideration as part of their collective reasoning to vote to overturn the proposed ordinance.
Representative government should mean that elected representatives take the time to study and consider the merits of proposed ordinances, direct staff to research the issue and engage constituents for feedback prior to deliberation during public meetings. It is clear that the intent of the original so-called ‘Urgency Ordinance’ was to circumvent that process and affect a means to a personal and political agenda to ban and restrict legal medical marijuana in San Benito County at a time in history when the state of California seems to be moving toward the legalization, taxation and regulation of limited amounts of recreational marijuana use by adults 21 years and older.
San Benito County may indeed benefit from a legal, well-regulated and tax revenue-producing marijuana agricultural industry one day if and when the prohibition of marijuana is repealed at the state level. The proverbial writing seems to be on the wall to that extent.
Thank you to the Board of Supervisors for listening to its constituents and informed experts during its deliberation process and following good representative government practices.