A modest crowd attended the Aug. 3 Yreka City Council meeting, where the city's proposed marijuana ordinance was the hot topic on the agenda.

A modest crowd attended the Aug. 3 Yreka City Council meeting, where the city’s proposed marijuana ordinance was the hot topic on the agenda.

The ordinance – if a second reading is approved – would enact Chapter 9.27 of city ordinance 850, entitled, “Non-medical marijuana cultivation, regulation and the prohibition of commercial cannabis activity, manufacture, testing, dispensing, sales, distribution and delivery within all zoning districts of the city of Yreka.”

The meeting’s venue was changed from the city chambers to the Yreka community theater, in anticipation of a large turnout. However, as mayor Joan Smith Freeman pointed out at the beginning of the meeting, the chambers would have been sufficient to accommodate the size of the crowd.

Nearly every member of the public who commented on the ordinance spoke in favor of it, with only four people out of 25 expressing disagreement. After a count of the number of people who wished to comment on the ordinance, the councilmembers agreed to change the allotted time for each speaker’s comments to three minutes instead of five to move the meeting along.

Those who disagreed with the ordinance cited the passing of California’s proposition 64 last year, which legalizes the adult use of marijuana. As the majority of California citizens voted in favor of legalization, the individuals said, the council is acting against the interests of state citizens by passing an ordinance which will curtail the freedoms of cannabis users.

Those views were largely overshadowed though, by the overwhelming number of citizens who spoke in favor of the ordinance. The councilmembers observed that there were very few young people in attendance.

The youth of Yreka were repeatedly mentioned, however. Many individuals expressed that, if dispensaries were allowed in the city limits, it would give youth easier access to cannabis, which was a point of significant concern. Numerous people who spoke in favor of the ordinance’s passage – including councilmember Rob Bicego – expressed that the adults of the community should be setting a good example for the youth by not indulging in recreational cannabis use.

Many people stated their belief that smoking marijuana dulls the mind and cognitive processes, and that youth who gain access to marijuana will exhibit less motivation, less self-discipline and poorer academic performance. One local man said that today’s youth “are lazy enough as it is,” and that he believes exposure to cannabis would surely worsen that issue.

After listening to the 25 commenters, the discussion went back to the council for comment. Smith Freeman concluded, “The community has overwhelmingly spoken and supported where we’re going with our ordinance.”

Each councilmember was given a chance to speak. The comments were short and simple and noted satisfaction with the meeting. Bicego made a motion to pass the ordinance as presented.

It was then that councilmember Norman Shaskey spoke, choosing to take his turn to speak after all the other councilmembers had finished.

Shaskey then passed out his own proposed amendment to the ordinance, which would, among other things, allow for two dispensaries within the Yreka city limits. Shaskey stated that, as the majority of California’s citizens voted in favor of legalizing cannabis, that the council’s ordinance should be less restrictive.

He also noted his concern that forcing citizens to drive “40 minutes south or north” to Mount Shasta or Oregon in order to purchase cannabis from dispensaries is unfair to cannabis users and would “create a black market.” He told the other councilmembers, “I would support this ordinance if this amendment were put in.”

It was determined that Bicego, the motion maker, would have to accept Shaskey’s amendment in order to have it included and passed with the existing ordinance. Bicego stated simply, “I don’t not accept it,” and the council voted on passing the original ordinance. All but Shaskey voted in favor.

The ordinance will come back for a second reading at the Sept. 7 Yreka city council meeting before it can be put in place.