pot: Another city council meeting!
I didn't speak this time. Not because I didn't want to, but because there were thirteen people ahead of me this time and I figured 13 x 3 mins = WAYYY TOOO LONG to sit there. The meeting started at 6:30. It ended at 12:30. The MJ issue took up the very last two hours. The city council members were so tired their speech was slurring. ::snerk:: They were very awesome about extending the meeting, though, to allow for all the people to talk who had been waiting so patiently thru the rest of the meeting. Mary Flynn in particular; I wish I could send her thank-you cookies or something.
So. Very long story being cut EXTREMELY short:
*I'm waaaaayyy too visually expressive at these meetings. Terrible poker face. ::sigh::
*There are other people in Chico having the exact same health issues as we are because of the damn plants!! WE ARE NOT ALONE!!!! I could have cried when 3 other people got up and talked about having first asthma and then migraine issues because of their neighbor's gardens.
*The marijuana users in this area are mostly people with huge freaking entitlement issues. Their right to their 'medicine' that will make them feel better somehow trumps our right to breathe. Despite us going up there repeatedly and pointing out that it's not the SMELL that causes the 'nuisance' but the HEALTH ISSUES that the smell incites, all the pro-big-backyard-garden speakers kept hounding that their neighbors who complained were just being prudish, conservative, whiny bitches who didn't want them to enjoy their weed. They got very rude to the council members in their little three minute speeches, wrapping themselves up in a flag and pounding on law books and crying that the council was being prejudiced against them for even SUGGESTING they move their gardens indoors.
*I actually chased a guy out to the lobby because he was an activist of sorts for the MJ laws and very knowledgeable on the legality of the whole thing, and he seemed reasonable enough to talk to, so when he left early I wanted to catch him. I talked to him and his significant other, a very sweet, nice lady who I really didn't like hearing was the one with cancer. Anyway, she listened to me explain my sitch and ask what they knew of for me to do, and I also asked what could be done to protect their legal rights to grow the plants and my legal rights to go on breathing. Their suggestion was simply talk to the neighbors about moving their garden, oh and maybe look in to getting a prescription myself because smoking marijuana apparently helps asthma... Not gonna try that one, but the gal meant well. They said there's absolutely nothing else that can be done. They totally ignored my point about including the compromise in their advocacy and activism networks as a way of promoting their cause, instead of crying prejudice. I don't know why they opted to leave early, either, because they kept going back to the chamber doors to listen to other speakers, while one or the other were talking to me. But whatever.
*The council had originally been leaning toward adopting an ordinance like other California cities that require legal grows be done in-doors and that the whole affair be overseen by code-enforcement and citations, helping add revenue and keeping folk outta jail. I have a copy of that report right here next to me and I'll poke through it in the morning to see. Oakland isn't included, but perhaps not a bad model - at least as far as offering dispensaries as a solution. I don't yet know what their stance on "annoying the neighbors" putting the neighbors in the hospital is.
*The sneaky, crafty, annoying councilman-I'll-never-vote-for-again (who also reminded me why I cant stand working for lawyers anymore) suggested quite joyfully that the council look in to the legality of a community-run dispensary to get the need for the back-yard plants taken care of for good. That got a roar of approval from the thirty-ish stoners in the crowd.
*In the end, they moved that the issue be sent to the internal committee and perhaps there will be a 'citizen contributed ad-hoc committee' to assist the internal affairs committee. If there is, I'd like to be on it. We'll see. I doubt I'll be invited, based on the bias of that committee's chairman... aka the annoying councilman I'll never vote for again.
And yes, believe it or not, that was the short version. ::snerk::
The main thing I'm taking away from that meeting, though, is that we're pretty much out of luck. The council won't move on anything because the city's too broke to either fight the litigation from the entitled stoners, or pay the extra code enforcers if they went that route. They can't even make a decision on the zoning issue because THAT is a different committee apparently now, would have to bunt that one to the planning commission. So while the discussion we helped start is a good one, it's not really done any good. I'm going to attempt talking to one of my neighbors, per the stoners' suggestions, and see how that turns out. The harvest is almost over for this year. So far everyone's still alive - knock on wood, quick! - and so we might as well wait and see what stupid California politics chooses to do about the matter. The shit could be legalized on the next ballot and then all of this is REALLY a bunch of spinning wheels. There's just no telling.
For now... I'm frellin' tired. Six hours in that conference hall was four too many.
So. Very long story being cut EXTREMELY short:
*I'm waaaaayyy too visually expressive at these meetings. Terrible poker face. ::sigh::
*There are other people in Chico having the exact same health issues as we are because of the damn plants!! WE ARE NOT ALONE!!!! I could have cried when 3 other people got up and talked about having first asthma and then migraine issues because of their neighbor's gardens.
*The marijuana users in this area are mostly people with huge freaking entitlement issues. Their right to their 'medicine' that will make them feel better somehow trumps our right to breathe. Despite us going up there repeatedly and pointing out that it's not the SMELL that causes the 'nuisance' but the HEALTH ISSUES that the smell incites, all the pro-big-backyard-garden speakers kept hounding that their neighbors who complained were just being prudish, conservative, whiny bitches who didn't want them to enjoy their weed. They got very rude to the council members in their little three minute speeches, wrapping themselves up in a flag and pounding on law books and crying that the council was being prejudiced against them for even SUGGESTING they move their gardens indoors.
*I actually chased a guy out to the lobby because he was an activist of sorts for the MJ laws and very knowledgeable on the legality of the whole thing, and he seemed reasonable enough to talk to, so when he left early I wanted to catch him. I talked to him and his significant other, a very sweet, nice lady who I really didn't like hearing was the one with cancer. Anyway, she listened to me explain my sitch and ask what they knew of for me to do, and I also asked what could be done to protect their legal rights to grow the plants and my legal rights to go on breathing. Their suggestion was simply talk to the neighbors about moving their garden, oh and maybe look in to getting a prescription myself because smoking marijuana apparently helps asthma... Not gonna try that one, but the gal meant well. They said there's absolutely nothing else that can be done. They totally ignored my point about including the compromise in their advocacy and activism networks as a way of promoting their cause, instead of crying prejudice. I don't know why they opted to leave early, either, because they kept going back to the chamber doors to listen to other speakers, while one or the other were talking to me. But whatever.
*The council had originally been leaning toward adopting an ordinance like other California cities that require legal grows be done in-doors and that the whole affair be overseen by code-enforcement and citations, helping add revenue and keeping folk outta jail. I have a copy of that report right here next to me and I'll poke through it in the morning to see. Oakland isn't included, but perhaps not a bad model - at least as far as offering dispensaries as a solution. I don't yet know what their stance on "annoying the neighbors" putting the neighbors in the hospital is.
*The sneaky, crafty, annoying councilman-I'll-never-vote-for-again (who also reminded me why I cant stand working for lawyers anymore) suggested quite joyfully that the council look in to the legality of a community-run dispensary to get the need for the back-yard plants taken care of for good. That got a roar of approval from the thirty-ish stoners in the crowd.
*In the end, they moved that the issue be sent to the internal committee and perhaps there will be a 'citizen contributed ad-hoc committee' to assist the internal affairs committee. If there is, I'd like to be on it. We'll see. I doubt I'll be invited, based on the bias of that committee's chairman... aka the annoying councilman I'll never vote for again.
And yes, believe it or not, that was the short version. ::snerk::
The main thing I'm taking away from that meeting, though, is that we're pretty much out of luck. The council won't move on anything because the city's too broke to either fight the litigation from the entitled stoners, or pay the extra code enforcers if they went that route. They can't even make a decision on the zoning issue because THAT is a different committee apparently now, would have to bunt that one to the planning commission. So while the discussion we helped start is a good one, it's not really done any good. I'm going to attempt talking to one of my neighbors, per the stoners' suggestions, and see how that turns out. The harvest is almost over for this year. So far everyone's still alive - knock on wood, quick! - and so we might as well wait and see what stupid California politics chooses to do about the matter. The shit could be legalized on the next ballot and then all of this is REALLY a bunch of spinning wheels. There's just no telling.
For now... I'm frellin' tired. Six hours in that conference hall was four too many.