With an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the City Council put a nine-month hold on the application and permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries, bringing everything to a standstill.

City Councilman Darrell Fong was the only dissenting vote, citing concerns that proximity of dispensaries to schools and parks is not adequately addressed in the ordinance.

The freeze left some dispensary operators and medical marijuana patients concerned for the future of dispensaries and of the ability to access medicine.

The Sacramento Press asked people for their opinion of the current state of limbo that medical marijuana dispensaries are in. Reactions from Sacramentans ranged from mild to animated – one thing they were not, however, was ambivalent.

Jeanne Larsson (Image by: Melissa Corker) Jeanne Larsson, 45, the director of A Therapeutic Alternative, said the City Council made the right decision Tuesday.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Larsson said. “They’re not reacting – they’re not giving a knee-jerk reaction out of fear.”

Larsson said the city and dispensary operators have a lot of time and money invested in the process, and she has nothing but praise for council members for temporarily stepping back from the situation.

“I’m pretty confident they’re going to do the best they can to make it work,” Larsson said.

Katherine Wold (Image by: Melissa Corker) Katherine Wold, a dental hygienist from Elk Grove, said she believes an effort to shut down dispensaries would be unwise.

“I think it’s ridiculous if you are allowing people to use (marijuana) for medication and don’t allow a place for them to purchase it,” Wold said. “Not everyone wants to grow their own.”

Wold, 36, said she is personally opposed to legalizing marijuana, but said that, if it is legal, it makes sense to provide access to it.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with stopping and taking a closer look at any decision, though,” Wold said. “There’s always time for reflection to make good decisions.”

Jay Cameron (Image by: Melissa Corker) Some people who spoke about Tuesday’s City Council decision saw a larger issue with medical marijuana than simply a freeze on the permit process.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that once it’s legalized, the penalty for use will go from misdemeanors to felonies,” unemployed Sacramento resident Jay Cameron said. “It used to be just a little dispute, but now it’s a battleground for police and sheriffs.”

Cameron, 48, said that, since medical marijuana is such a “big moneymaker,” he believes it will become another way for the criminal justice system to profit.

“That’s the whole reason to get all those (dispensaries) shut down in town,” Cameron said. “It’s a moneymaker for the police who make arrests – they just need to get more bodies in their cells and more tickets to be paid.”

Between “big pharmaceutical companies” and “competing” police and sheriff forces in the city, Cameron said, “medical marijuana and dispensary operations are all about money.”

Joe Cole (Image by: Melissa Corker) Joe Cole, a local printer account representative, said the subject is something he feels passionate about.

“I think (dispensaries are) being used more as a way to get marijuana through legal channels than just to get medicine,” Cole, 54, said. “There could be a better way (to get medical marijuana), but I don’t think these dispensaries are the way to do it.”

Cole said he feels an outright ban on dispensaries would be a better way to handle the current situation unless medical marijuana is fully legalized. In that case, Cole said, it should be dispensed through doctors, hospitals and pharmacies.

“I think the doctors (prescribing marijuana) right now are in cahoots with the dispensary operators,” Cole said.

Gary Harris, 27, said his father is a medical marijuana user who has seen positive results from the use of cannabis, so he has a personal interest in the subject.

Harris, a salesman at a local bed store, said that he believes the city would make a mistake to shut dispensaries down, so taking a “wait-and-see attitude” is a good idea.

“If you close down legal dispensaries and force (marijuana sales) underground, you put money into the hands of the guys with guns and grenades,” Harris said. “That policy won’t work.”

Harris said he’d like to see the situation resolved between the state and the federal government over medical marijuana.

In the meantime, Harris said, “the best course of action is no action.”

What is your opinion about medical marijuana dispensaries in the city? Should they be allowed to operate and be regulated? Or, should Sacramento follow in the footsteps of neighboring communities – like Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova – and move toward a complete ban on dispensaries?

Make a comment below this story – we’d like to hear from you.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.