MONTEREY, Calif. - Tuesday night, the Monterey City Council voted to adopt a moratorium. This comes after a medical marijuana dispensary opened up in late November without the city's permission. The moratorium is a 45 day period for the Planning Commission to develop rules or do what ever the city council gives guidance to in order to tackle the issue of pot shops in the city. Before the meeting, protesters held signs in front of City Hall to send a message to council. Signs read, 'IT'S ABOUT RIGHTS, NOT DRUGS.' Protesters want MyCaregiver to stay open. Lawrence Samuels with the pro-drug group FED-UP organized a peaceful gathering. He says the group has been pushing for a dispensary in the city for years.
"We get a lot of people calling up saying they can't drive to Santa Cruz, they can't drive to San Jose, they're blind, they're crippled, they're too old and they need a local place," says Lawrence Samuels.
Samuels is not a medical marijuana user, but believes people should get the treatment they need.
"I'm more into the rights of it. People owning their own body, you know it's their body and they should have the right to put whatever they want in it," says Samuels.
City Hall was a packed house. People formed a long line to voice their concerns on the cannabis collective.
"The marijuana store dispensary must be shut down immediately," says concerned resident.
MyCaregiver director Jhonrico Carrnshimba also stepped up to the podium and told council medical marijuana is a health care product and therefore the shop should not close its doors.
"We are a health care cooperative, so deny us a business license simply because we
provide each other medical cannabis amounts to discrimination," says Jhonrico Carrnshimba.
Under the city's zoning ordinance, medical marijuana dispensaries are not allowed. Now council has the option to vote on a moratorium. the city handed the MyCaregiver a cease and desist order last week. The collective has 10 days to appeal to the planning commission.
