Twain Harte TimesTwain Harte Information & Photo Gallery

For months we’ve been following the saga of the Sonora and Tuolumne County battles against medical marijuana dispensaries. The Union Democrat reported…

County carving out medical marijuana sales ordinance

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Chris Caskey,
The Union Democrat
October 05, 2011 03:11 pm

Tuolumne County is moving forward with a proposal to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.
The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to have county staff finalize an ordinance that would make it a misdemeanor to run a retail center that makes available, sells, transmits or gives marijuana to two or more patients, primary caregivers or members of the public.

However, supervisors and other county officials suggested the ordinance should allow for clinical medicinal use of the drug that is legal under California state law.
Supervisors heard the first reading of an ordinance prohibiting pot dispensaries that, according to County Counsel Gregory Oliver, is similar to a law passed by the Sonora City Council on Aug. 1.

Under the proposed ordinance, a dispensary would not include a “qualified patient or a person with an identification card delivering, administering or providing medical marijuana at the primary residence” of a legal medicinal user.

According to the ordinance, the definition also does not include licensed clinics, health facilities, residential care centers for the elderly or those with chronic illness, or a home health care agency.

However, the first draft of the law does lump collectives and cooperatives together with dispensaries.

During a lengthy discussion, supervisors and county officials juggled a desire to expand what they considered a widely abused system into the county without restricting local access for residents who use it responsibly and legally.

“We don’t have a balance here,” said Chairman John Gray. “We’re trying to do what’s right because I think we all can agree that it’s been abused the way it’s being run now. But in fixing that, are we causing additional harm?”

It is difficult to estimate how many medical marijuana users live in Tuolumne County, Public Health Officer Dr. Todd Stolp said. While the county has issued 28 medical marijuana identification cards, the cardholder is not required to receive the substance through a clinical setting. [Continue Reading...]

How much sense does it make to have people running around the county delivering marijuana in their vehicles, when they could keep a better eye on the dispensaries if they are stationary?

The reasons there are only 28 medical marijuana identification cards issued are many and varied. Some people are waiting for the local police policies to catch up with state law. After all, I doubt many seriously sick people would enjoy a night in jail waiting for their day in court. Further, it is still difficult to find local physicians willing to prescribe marijuana.

Many people don’t possess medical marijuana prescription cards but smoke to stay alive.  Many have given up on the medical community being able to solve their health issues. The doctors solution is always to pump us full of narcotics, until the patient is unable to function on any level.

I have back issues that qualify me for a medical marijuana prescription card, but the back pain I can deal with, it’s the nausea and being unable to keep anything down that keeps me searching for alternatives. I’ve tried many things, ginger helps soothe my troubled tummy to some degree but smoking marijuana provides relief and allows me to keep up with my busy family.

Why can’t we all just get along and stop making the lives of those who struggle with medical issues harder still?

You say…

 “There’s no question that (the laws) have been abused. A considerable number of patients and health care providers have been very lax and unprofessional,” he said.
But Stolp said he is concerned — if the ordinance passes as is — about those who actually use it legitimately.

“It would be more difficult” for those patients to gain access to cannabis, he said.

To that, I say…

First off, who cares? Those inside cabins for miles around get to “enjoy” the sounds of vociferant music,  foul-mouthed drunks that spill out into the streets almost every evening. Compared to that, marijuana smokers are almost comatose.

The only reason I can see for the county Board of Supervisors to ban dispensaries must have something to do with all the federal dollars that pour into our county to eradicate marijuana being grown in the Stanislaus National Forest.

I know our county isn’t rich. We could use the tax dollars that would come from allowing these dispensaries. The new policy simply doesn’t make good sense from a fiscal standpoint or a social one. Besides, once marijuana is legalized, your ordinance won’t mean a blessed thing anyway and all you will have succeeded in doing is wasting a bunch of time on a non-issue.

Listen to what Ron Paul has to say on this topic…

Ron Paul on Marijuana Prohibition and its Scandalous Racist Roots!

Related articles

• Feds Don’t Condone Oakland Pot Dispensary, But Want $2.5M in Back Taxes (sfist.com)
• Want More Crime in Your City? Close Your Local Medical Marijuana Dispensary, Says Study (newsfeed.time.com)
• Will Fresno marijuana advocates take a lesson from Bakersfield? (fresnobeehive.com)
• Marijuana petition drive blocks Kern County ban (bakersfield.com)

Fall has always been my most favorite time of year. The days are still warmer than I like but the evening air is cool and brisk. As an added treat the past two night have brought not only a gentle, if brief rain, but thunder storms.

Topaz Lake

Tonight, locals were treated to lightning as well. Look eastward, you can see the dark, foreboding sky and you just know Kennedy Meadows is having some rough weather. The change in weather put a welcome damper on weekend hoopla.

If you plan to be out and about after dark, remember to pack a sweater. If you forget, the Twain Harte Pharmacy carries sweaters, jackets and much more — just remember they close at 7:00 p.m., maybe even earlier on Sundays and holidays. (Call for hours and directions (209) 586-3225.)

Thunderstorms are the one thing I missed since moving from Michigan to California. If the strong winds and lightning continues, we could experience sporadic power outages. The power surged while we were ordering dinner at the Twain Harte Pizza Factory tonight, but it came right back on again. It was off long enough to reboot the computer. Time to hunt down those candles; it never hurts to be prepared.

It’s currently 61° and the landscape appears to almost glow because of the recent rains. Be sure to get outside and enjoy the cooler weather. During a thunderstorm electronics should be turned off — unplug them if possible.

Related articles

• Motherlode Area Calendar of Events (localhs.com)
• Eastern Sierra Nevada Fall Colors (sierravisionsstock.com)
• Fall Colors of Nevada City (www.sierranevadageotourism.org)

Image via Wikipedia

The Twain Harte Homeowners meeting was well attended, with over 100 residents in attendance today at Black Oak School. Many issues where discussed, with residents expressing concerns regarding local signage and fire safety issues.

The Twain Harte Homeowners Association took up a donation for the Daffodil Fund, matching funds will be provided by a board members family, as part of the Twain Harte beautification project. Other projects include new informational signage for the Twain Harte area. The signs have already been approved by the Twain Harte board and will be put into place once approval for the new signs have passed muster with Tuolumne County.

County response to many issues has slowed to a snails pace as we discovered over the July 4th weekend, when an injured buck was shot by a sheriff and left to die on our property. I brought this issue up at the meeting but my question was never addressed, the moderator quoted time constraints as an issue. With over 400 Tuolumne County jobs having been cut or eliminated altogether, bringing the 950 county positions down to a mere 550, getting services in the future could take an act of congress. The county is due to lose another 81 jobs during the months of July/August.

The Twain Harte Community Services District (THCSD), will be seeking yet another rate increase to cover needed upgrades to our antiquated water and sewer services. The details are shared by Scot A. Moody, General Manager, on page 5 of the bi-annual newsletter available online in pdf format. I must admit having our electrical meters switched over to “Smart Meters,” wasn’t a big hit with the locals and now they are discussing switching our water meters to digital meters.

One of the projects listed is the replacement of our existing mechanical water meters with digital (green technology) water meters. The digital meters will allow the district to read the meters in a more efficient manner and will save the district manpower and fuel costs associated with this process. Additionally, the electronic meters are much more accurate than manual meters, and will allow us to provide you with better service. The District expects to save in excess of $43,000 annually as a result of this project. [Read more...]

There are even talks of putting a hydro-electric power plant online, which has been sitting idle since 1985, in order to sell power back to TUD and provide an offset for some of the planned rate increase.

The 2011 Litter Pick-Up Dates are as follows:

• August 6 at 9:00 AM
• September 3 at 9:00 AM
• October 8 at 9:00 AM
• November 5 at 9:00 AM
• December 3 at 10:00 AM

Volunteers are always welcome to assist in the clean up efforts. Many hands make light work.

The issue I was most concerned about, the string of burglaries that were occuring in the Twain Harte area, was only briefly addressed. It was reported that 29 local breakins had occured in Twain Harte over a 6-month period, the main suspect was taken into custody last month, so the issue has been put to rest.

I am concerned because a group of about 50 mexican nationals were camping at Beardsley over the July 4th weekend and were causing trouble with local campers. It was reported that the non-English speaking group was playing loud music until 3:00 a.m. and raiding campsites. The trouble ended with guns being drawn by local campers, as the rangers were powerless to act against such a large group of people.

If you plan to go camping this year use caution and get to know the campers near you. You may need to band together to protect your family and your camping gear against unwanted predators and mischief makers.