In what could be called the first Hollister Medical Marijuana Summit, city council members and the county board of supervisors met with some 200 residents and “outsiders” to discuss the issue of a pending city ordinance that might permit the growing, distribution and sale of medical marijuana.
Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez told the crowd that because there was considerable passion about the issue, the committee wanted to listen to everyone who wanted to express their thoughts. Because of the number of people present, he said speakers would be limited to one minute to express their views. He went on to say no decision would be made regarding the ordinance in the immediate future.
“It’s important that we take our time and we get all the input from the community so we make sure we make the right decision,” he said. “Nothing has been decided. I want to make sure you all understand that so when you leave here you don’t feel it’s one way or the other.”
Velazquez emphasized the importance of each speaker expressing their personal beliefs and not attacking one another’s comments, and he asked for mutual respect so everyone who wanted to would speak. He recognized that some might not want to speak in public and invited them to contact him by phone or email.
“Part of the reason we’re having this discussion is new state laws are taking effect the beginning of the year and we have a choice to either have our own ordinance before that so we’re grandfathered into the state or we can go by whatever the state tells us to do,” he cautioned. “Personally, I don’t like being told by the state what to do and I think it’s wise to be ahead of it, whether we choose to do something or not.”
From the time the mayor turned the microphone over to those who wished to speak, 52 people came up to the podium. Some stated faith- or ethical-based reasons against the ordinance; some told heart-wrenching stories of loved ones or friends who were either helped or irreparably harmed by marijuana; while others who were already in the medical marijuana business expressed interest in expanding into San Benito County and Hollister.
Jack Kirk was first to speak. A vocal opponent of marijuana in the county, he had spoken forcefully at the last city council meeting concerning the ordinance. He stated as he had before that there was nothing in the proposed ordinance limiting the number of dispensaries and that it was, according to Councilman Karson Klauer, being promoted in preparation of recreation marijuana.
Mike Corral said regulations are necessary, but need to be sensible to “facilitate an industry that’s coming” and that he “looks forward to intelligent regulations coming from the city council.”
Gary Cameron said he was concerned that because Klauer worked in real estate he might have a conflict of interest in voting on the ordinance. Velazquez told him that no council member was allowed by law to receive any revenue in any form after voting on an issue for at least one year.
Tim Solomon said that while he supports medical marijuana, he believes the needs of those who use it could be met without the passing of the ordinance. Tim Burns said he recognized how personal the issue was for some, but said it’s really just about the money, and that law enforcement would be an issue because some people would not want to be regulated. Local architect David Huboi said there’s no denial that marijuana is a legitimate medicine.
“Prohibition of medical marijuana to relieve suffering of seriously ill patients infringes on their autonomy to avoid severe physical suffering, their right to receive medical treatment, and in some cases the right to die with dignity,” he said. “Here’s the fundamental question: who are we to deny this right?”
Amanda Griffin-Snyder, co-founder of a San Jose dispensary that opened a little more than six years ago, said approximately 600 people a day come there for their marijuana, as well as yoga treatments to help with the “whole body” healing process.
“We’re interested in what you guys are talking about, growing facilities, land and greenhouses,” she said. “We are regulated by the City of San Jose. We worked closely with city officials to come up with a regulation called Title 6, and we’re looking for a facility.”
Bonnie Wells said she opposes the proposed ordinance and feels it will generate more crime.
“The economic benefit will be largely outweighed by the need to police these activities,” she said. “Personally, I don’t want a person growing medical marijuana next to my house and the property that I own, nor do I want to be subjected to what their values are. If a person has a medical marijuana issue, they can go to another town or county and buy it there.”
Then Lonny Wells stepped up and said he also opposes the ordinance, and said that while he feels the pain of those who need medical marijuana, they can buy it outside the county, and that Hollister is a family community.
Brent Hawks emphasized that while there is good evidence supporting medical use of marijuana, there are also many unknowns about it. He said he has heard opposing comments that “it’s not that bad” and “it’s not that good,” and ended by saying, “life is too short for ‘it’s not that good.’ I don’t believe for a moment that you ran for election on the platform of ‘not that good.’ Rather, I think you willingly took on the responsibility to defend and represent us of this wonderful community.”
Jessica McGill said she suffers from a complex neuro disorder that causes her constant, agonizing pain. She said traditional pain medication did not work, but she has found relief with medical marijuana.
“Marijuana gives me 100 percent pain relief and lets me love life again,” she said, “and helps with anxiety and depression.”
Greg Harvey said he understands that people need medical marijuana, but he doesn’t feel the city should condone the business of selling it. He questioned the cost-benefit analysis. Bruce Gesok said that as a teenager he got into drugs and that “it was not a good thing.” He said he knows a number of people in the community who are struggling to get free of the illegal drugs they’re taking.
“And once they get free of it, they don’t need the influence of smelling marijuana floating around the town,” Gesok said. “I think we can easily take care of the people who need medical care in the county and not in the city.”
Lauren Winters, a resident of San Jose, said she has worked with veterans suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), as well as cancer patients, by getting them off damaging medications and onto marijuana. She said the dispensary at which she works is heavily regulated and pays 10 sales percent tax. She commented that many patients come from Hollister, and they shouldn’t have to be making the drive to San Jose while suffering from severe pain.
Joey Espinosa introduced himself as representing the Coastal Growers Association and said he supports the city taking the steps to regulate the industry to “provide a community benefit and help create jobs.” He cautioned that the marijuana industry already exists in the city, whether anyone wants it to or not.
“It exists in the form of the black market,” Espinosa said. “A lot of the concerns these people have when it comes to medical cannabis can be mitigated with a regulated environment. The black market does not check IDs or medical recommendations, and does not go through a permitting process, background checks or accountability. We shouldn’t allow the people who do it the wrong way from preventing people to do it the right way.”
Sal Palma, from Monterey, works in the medical cannabis industry and does so, he said, because his father suffered from a stroke and had to take opiates that he said were as debilitating as the stroke. He said marijuana has allowed his father to regain a semblance of normalcy. He said he has submitted an application to the city to grow and manufacture marijuana.
“Our single operation will have approximately $7 million of offsite and onsite improvements by local contractors, and approximately $3 million per year in taxes to the city’s general fund,” he said, “with approximately 100 full-time local jobs with a starting wage 50 percent above the current level.”
Clint Bishop said he was against the government making money off things that parents teach their kids is a vice. Wendy Krulee said she was speaking for her two friends, one of whom was afraid to talk because of the stigma, and the other because she is too crippled to come to the meeting. She said she, too, suffers from several ailments and that the medications she was taking almost destroyed her liver. She said with a pharmacy on nearly every corner, it’s unfair to force the extremely ill to travel outside the area in order to obtain medical marijuana.
Cole Bazzell commented that marijuana has been around Hollister as long as he can remember and that now is an opportunity for the city “to make it work for you.” Tiffany Moore commented that, as a Christian, she hopes there is more compassion for those who rely on medical marijuana and “I don’t think it’s fair to say it doesn’t belong in this community, so go elsewhere. That’s very closed-minded and judgmental.” Gary Sunseri said he is concerned about the children and that the Colorado and Washington statistics since approving medical marijuana show that there has been an “increased exposure to the youth of marijuana, and an increase in poisoning and ER visits from children accidentally eating marijuana products.”
Carl Saling said he supports the proposed local ordinance and he is a “cannabis entrepreneur,” stating he got into the business because when his son was 13 he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, which “decimated his youth.” Saling went on to say, “These mainstream pharmaceutical companies give your kids these drugs, which in my son’s case was a four-hour drip that cost $30,000 each time and almost gave him leukemia. I find that cannabis enables my son to not have to take those horrible drugs and live as normal a life as he can.” He said his goal is to heal as many kids and others as he possibly can, and he would like to do it in Hollister.
Jacob Starkweather challenged the city and county leaders to determine how many of the people speaking in favor of the ordinance were from out of town or in the cannabis industry, and to remember that the elected officials represent the citizens of Hollister and the county. Lorraine Larson said he does not believe a majority of the citizens in Hollister want marijuana in any form within the city. Peter Hernandez said the biggest issue is “unintended consequences” of recreational marijuana that will surely come if the ordinance is passed and asked that it be put up for a vote by the people. Richard Holdaway said that even though he suffered from a broken back and neck, he never considered medical marijuana because as a child he said his biological father thought marijuana was a good idea and used to beat him. He strongly advised, “Remove everybody in this room who is not from Hollister and give us a chance to vote on this because we’re the ones who voted you in. We do not want this here. Open your ears and close your wallets.”
One of the poignant stories came from Shawn Lance, who said his son began his drug addiction with marijuana and in his own words described it as a “gateway drug.”
“He wanders the streets high on marijuana and then OxyContin,” Lance said. “When he couldn’t afford OxyContin, he started using heroin. He’s 23 years old and spends his days shoplifting from Walmart and Target. It’s a very expensive, horrible, destructive habit. We’re raising a generation of zombies. Let’s not make our kids collateral damage to money by bringing this into our communities. My son can’t get help. He’s living on the streets and doing this every day and he regrets the day he started smoking marijuana.”
When the final tally was calculated, it was evenly split with 26 speaking out against moving forward with the ordinance and 26 in favor of it.
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