The community Municipal Advisory Council affirmed a ban on the commercial sale of both recreational and medical marijuana in Oak Park Tuesday, April 25.

The issue was introduced when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors convened to vote on the potential legalization of medical marijuana dispensaries in Ventura County in December 2015. At the time, board members voted to keep the restriction on marijuana, asking the staff involved for a proposal in the hopes of approving the sale of medical marijuana in Ventura County.

Another proposal, brought to a vote in March 2017, recommended introducing two small dispensaries, one in West Ventura County and the other in East Ventura County, as well as multiple small farms and two processing facilities. It required that the location of the dispensary be at least 1,000 feet from any “sensitive uses” such as parks or schools. Additionally, the proposal decreased the maximum size of these dispensaries from the state-regulated 20,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet.

Ultimately, the only area with the zoning necessary for the dispensary in East Ventura County was Oak Park, according to Board of Supervisors chairwoman Linda Parks.

At the March board meeting however, the proposal was voted down over concerns about how the Oak Park community would receive the dispensary.

The vote was split 2-3, with supervisors John Zaragoza and Steve Bennett voting to legalize and implement marijuana distribution centers and supervisors Parks, Peter Foy and Kelly Long voting against the proposal.

Parks said that at the time, the potential discontent and opposition of the Oak Park community led her to vote the way she did.

“I did not support the draft law because I was concerned that residents of Oak Park would oppose having a medical marijuana dispensary in their community based on their recent objections to a liquor store,” Parks wrote to the Talon.

The liquor store was planned to open on the corner of Lindero Canyon Road and Kanan Road in April 2016; however, it was canceled over concerns from community members. Oak Park parent Ruth Rose said in a previous Talon interview that the opposition intended to keep “the neighborhood as safe as it is: a family community.”

Bennett said he had hoped that the [dispensary] proposal would be approved, calling it a “small step in the right direction,” and that the failure of the motion to pass would have many detrimental effects on those that require marijuana for medical purposes.

“There are people in Ventura County who need safe and reliable access to medical marijuana, particularly people who have recently become sick, cancer [for example] – going through those treatments, they can’t just plant their own plants,” Bennett said. “They need it. And it was a very, very modest proposal, a small step our staff had recommended, and I thought that we should do it.”

Since the proposal was voted down, there are currently no further plans for distribution centers in Oak Park until the board agrees to request another proposal.

Despite voting the motion down, some board members decided to take the proposal to the Oak Park MAC. Had the MAC approved the proposal, it would have returned to the Board of Supervisors.

The Oak Park MAC voted April 25, unanimously deciding that Oak Park would not approve of the dispensary, citing concerns over both safety and community environment.

“The Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council is strongly against any form of medical marijuana dispensary here. This is a family community that we live in, we don’t feel that we’re a commercial type operation, and we’re concerned over the type of traffic that would be coming off of the freeway, potentially bringing in individuals that we might not want here,” Vice Chairman Chris Chapman said. “The safety was part of it, definitely the family orientation of our community. We’re not speaking for ourselves, we’re speaking for the community, and the feeling is that this isn’t the type of place we want to be bringing a commercial operation into.”

Medical marijuana was first legalized in California in 1996. Recreational marijuana, however, was legalized in November 2016.

Despite the legalization of marijuana in the state, in order for individuals to commercially grow, process and sell medical marijuana, they need approval from local government.

Ventura County has maintained the ban on growing and selling both types of marijuana for 20 years.

“Marijuana dispensaries are not legal in Ventura County,” Parks wrote to the Talon. “County staff recommended a law that would have allowed them — as well as growing and manufacturing medical marijuana products — in the unincorporated county.”

An Oak Park resident who wished to remain anonymous expressed openness toward the proposal.

“I don’t really understand where the concern comes from; I think it’s a matter of self-discipline. If the fear is that people will abuse the fact that there is now a dispensary and purchase and use the marijuana for non-medical purposes, then that’s a valid concern,” resident A said. “But there really is nothing wrong with a medical marijuana dispensary. I think that it would help a lot of people.”

Some, however, had stronger opinions. Another Oak Park resident who wished to remain anonymous expressed opposition to the potential distribution center.

“I’d be concerned for many reasons, one of which would be the increased availability of marijuana in the community, and the real risk of secondhand smoke to children,” resident B said.

District Superintendent Tony Knight said he also believes that the distribution center would have a negative impact on the community.

“[While] the Board [of Education] has not taken a position on this, I would be strongly opposed to the dispensary being opened in Oak Park. I have never been a supporter of making marijuana more accepted and more available in our state and although that may not be a popular view, I stand by it,” Knight wrote to the Talon. “Over my long educational career, I have personally witnessed the plethora of issues surrounding the use of marijuana by young people. For many people, this becomes the center of their lives and what they think about night and day and I think that is tragic and a waste of a person’s precious life.”

Some community members offered a different opinion. An Oak Park resident who wished to remain anonymous supports the idea of a center for medical marijuana.

“Well, while I can’t say that I’m a fan of marijuana, the fact is that if people wanted marijuana, they could get it,” resident C said. “A dispensary would make it easier for people with [a legitimate need] for marijuana to get, which is a good thing.”