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C. Communities with Dispensaries Not having Criminal Problems. <br />To determine if communities with medical marijuana dispensaries were operating without <br />criminal activity or other negative secondary effects, City staff from the Police <br />Department and City Attorney's Office contacted counter-parts in other jurisdictions by <br />direct contact, as well as through list serves. The two responses, discussed below, were <br />the only replies received through this self-reporting by communities which indicated that <br />their dispensaries did not have criminal problems. <br />Staff from the City of Berkeley advised that their community has three dispensaries, two <br />of which rarely result in any police calls for service. There was an attempted burglary at <br />one of these two dispensaries in 2006. The third dispensary, on Telegraph Avenue, has <br />generated police reports that people purchase medical marijuana at this dispensary and <br />then resell it in the area. Several years ago, another dispensary was a major problem <br />due to reported and unreported armed robberies as well as a burglary at a nearby <br />building where the dispensary stored large amounts of marijuana. <br />Staff from the City of Arcata advised that their community has three dispensaries which <br />do not directly generate unusual street crime statistics. However, Arcata staff notes that <br />marijuana is a big problem with young people at the high school and university level. <br />Based on the information from the cities of Berkeley and Arcata, the illegal diversion of <br />medical marijuana to non-qualified persons, including minors, is a significant problem <br />even for these communities which report that the medical marijuana dispensaries <br />themselves do not have significant calls for police service. <br />To provide another response about communities with dispensaries not having criminal <br />problems, attached is an excerpt from a 2006 publication by Americans for Safe Access, <br />a self-described "organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and <br />concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and <br />research", quoting staff and officials from communities which did not respond to City <br />inquiries. While the elected official from the City of Santa Rosa quoted in the publication <br />discusses "a decrease in criminal activity", a "decrease" implies that some criminal <br />activity continues to exist, which is not discussed in the publication. Staff from Santa <br />Rosa did not self-report as a community with a dispensary without criminal problems <br />when City staff asked for such information. <br />Recommendation for Prohibition of Dispensaries in Pleasanton. <br />While a handful of communities have advised that the dispensaries themselves do not <br />generate significant calls for police services, the vast majority of communities with <br />medical marijuana dispensaries report armed robberies of the dispensaries and persons <br />leaving the dispensaries, as well as vagrancy around dispensaries. These negative <br />criminal effects of medical marijuana dispensaries have been clearly documented in <br />other communities, and such information was previously presented to the City Council <br />during consideration of the moratorium (extensions) on medical marijuana dispensaries. <br />While a medical marijuana dispensary has never operated within Pleasanton, an <br />Page 4 of 6 <br />