Fears unrealized, new 45-day moratorium approved anyway

Three months ago, when Anderson's City Council first considered an urgency ordinance prohibiting the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives, civic leaders were worried about a long laundry list of crimes that some other communities have encountered with such establishments.

Those crimes included loitering, illegal drug activity, burglaries, robberies and "other criminal activity within and around dispensaries" as well as increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic, noise and parking violations "generating a need for increased police response," a copy of Ordinance No. 761 states in part.

The reality has been much different, according to Anderson Police Chief Dale Webb, City Attorney Mike Fitzpatrick and others, including Gina Munday, who opened The Green Heart medical marijuana collective two days prior to the city's moratorium taking effect.

"I'm not aware of any complaints," stated Fitzpatrick when questioned last week.

"We haven't had any citizen complaints," APD Chief Webb said.

"None of the claims that people said could have happened have occurred, but I think you have to look at it over a longer period of time than just 90 days," Webb added.

Anderson police awareness of the medical marijuana issue has certainly been on an increased level, however, Webb cautioned.

"Our tracking system shows that there are between 14 and 20 medical marijuana growers - both indoor and outdoor gardens - taking place in the city of Anderson. The biggest thing we've seen is that some medical marijuana growers were assaulted and some of their product was stolen," Webb said.

One of those instances, however, occurred in 2008. The moratorium took effect July 21 and expired Tuesday, Oct. 20.

At its Tuesday, Oct. 20 regular meeting, the five-member Anderson City Council considered and unanimously approved a second urgency ordinance, this time lasting 45 days, that would prohibit the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives in any of the city's zoning districts.

Meanwhile, The Green Heart medical marijuana collective continues to conduct business without interruption or competition, a position that Joe Munday, the owner's husband, sees as a distinct advantage.

"I hope the moratorium stays in place. If they lifted the moratorium, there will be 17 of us in town and none of us will make any money," he said.

Gina Munday, who started with 11 clients and herself in the collective, now has 850 client-members in Anderson alone. She also opened up similar collectives in the City of Shasta Lake as well as Mount Shasta. In total, Munday's three collectives have 1,400 client-members, she said.

"We've just harvested and our members are harvesting as well, so we have plenty of product. There is an endless supply," Munday said.

""It's very rewarding to help people out who had no other place to secure medical marijuana legally," Munday said.

As a thank you to the community, The Green Heart will be distributing 30 turkeys to needy families in Anderson.

Her stores in Mount Shasta and the City of Shasta Lake are also conducting food drives.