Fresno pastors express staunch opposition to city's draft marijuana rules

A group of local pastors is angry and concerned about legislation being drafted that would pave the growth of medicinal marijuana dispensaries and manufacturing plants in the city of Fresno.

The pastors — Paul L. Binion II of Westside Church of God, B.T. Lewis II of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church and Elias Loera of Christian Temple Fresno — learned new details about the work-in-progress legislation during an advisory committee meeting with Mayor Lee Brand this week. They staunchly oppose the proposal.

It calls for allowing seven medical marijuana dispensaries in the city — one in each council district — and four manufacturing facilities where cannabis will be cultivated, tested, processed and packaged. After one year, seven additional dispensaries may be allowed to operate.

The mayor and his staff confirmed those proposals are being discussed, but the regulatory ordinance on cannabis likely won't go to a vote until late summer or early fall. By then, the regulatory details in the ordinance may change.

The ordinance will be discussed at the June 14 city council meeting in a workshop format. No decisions will be made and few details were made public, but an action item on the agenda does call for the council to vote on a possible marijuana business license tax ballot measure for November. To meet certain timelines, the council must vote soon whether or not they want businesses to be taxed if they're going to be allowed.

Last year, a divided city council voted to ban recreational marijuana in the city but unanimously voted to rewrite the city's ordinance on medical cannabis.

Now the mayor says regulating marijuana deters the black market.

The pastors doubt that claim. They said they believe the dispensaries will increase access to marijuana for teens, calling it a "gateway" drug. They also believe the city is motivated by dollar signs, and "all money is not good money."

Lewis quoted Jeremiah 29:7 from the Bible, which reads, in part: "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile." He also quoted Isaiah 1:17: "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."

The pastors' opposition to legal cannabis is their way of seeking justice and defending the oppressed, he said.

"It's a spiritual issue with me, but it's a moral issue that our leadership in our city would compromise the health and welfare of our community so they can get more money in the coffers," Binion said. "I'm greatly disturbed.

"As I told the mayor, you don't deal with what I'm dealing with. You don't deal with families coming to me …'Pastor help us, my son, or my daddy smoked the grocery money."

Loera said he arrives every morning to his church, near Cedar and Belmont avenues in southeast Fresno, and sees homeless people who are high wandering the streets "dazed and confused." He always assumed they were drunk, until he realized marijuana is cheaper to buy on the street than a 40-ounce beer at the liquor store.

Lewis said the pastors aren't interested in compromise. "It's about standing up for what we believe to be morally and spiritually right for our community."

Now, the pastors are working on a strategy for their response. They're expecting dozens of pastors to show up for a meeting this month to discuss the issue, and they'll be urging their congregations to write letters and make phone calls to their council members.

Mayor: Action needed

The mayor said his main focus is addressing the drug problem in Fresno and serving the best interest of Fresnans. "The motive is not to make money and haphazardly put things together," he said. "Doing nothing is not the answer."

The city will use resources and money combating illegal operations, he said, when it could be making money by taxing and strictly regulating legal businesses.

Brand said he sympathizes with the religious leaders who are standing their spiritual and moral ground, but he said he's thinking about what's best for Fresno, not his personal philosophies on the problem.

Some local pastors do support legalizing medical marijuana. Rev. Ara Guekguezian of the Big Red Church in the Fresno High neighborhood said it's no different than alcohol.

"I don’t see it as a moral issue whatsoever," he said. "It's just like drinking one or two glasses of wine — it's not an issue. But when you're drinking two bottles of wine is when it becomes a problem. It comes down to personal responsibility."

Guekguezian said marijuana laws have exploited the poor and people of color at a disproportionate rate, and legalizing marijuana allows city leaders to have more control over it.

Brandau, Bredefeld wary

Councilmembers Steve Brandau and Garry Bredefeld already have expressed hesitation to the proposal.

Brandau said the number of proposed dispensaries makes him wary. "I don’t believe we need a ton of them (dispensaries) in the city of Fresno," he said. "I was open-minded to a couple of them, which was the original discussion that we ended up having at the last vote. Behind the scenes, that number has expanded beyond my comfort level."

Brandau said he will go into the June 14 workshop with an open mind before he makes his decision.

Bredefeld said, "Do not be fooled: This is about the city of Fresno getting into the marijuana business and industry. It's no longer about just providing medicinal marijuana to some people who need it."

The idea that regulating marijuana would reduce the black market was "ridiculous" and "absurd," he said. He also expressed frustration that already the state of California is discussing decreasing taxes on the cannabis industry, but not other businesses in the state.

"I agree with the religious leaders in our community, and many other leaders in the community, who believe this is not what the city of Fresno should be involved in," he said. "It's a misguided policy by those seeking to profit off of drugs. It's unfortunate there's local elected leaders who support this."

Both Brandau and Bredefeld said that doesn't mean they'll vote against the tax resolution at the next meeting.

That resolution is sponsored by Councilmembers Oliver Baines, Paul Caprioglio and Clint Olivier.

The resolution text says the tax could generate anywhere between $3 million to $10 million annually for the city's general fund. The money would be used for services such as police, fire roads and parks. Ten percent of the funds would be placed in a community benefit fund to be allocated by a special citizens commission.

This story was originally published June 8, 2018 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Fresno pastors express staunch opposition to city's draft marijuana rules."