Dr. James Broderick will step down as the director of the
county’s Department of Alcohol, Drug & Mental Health Services
on March 23. During his 20 years of directing mental health
departments here and elsewhere, Broderick said one of his proudest
achievements was opening the doors to the Crisis and Recovery
Emergency Services Center on De la Vina Street, which serves the
mentally ill and drug addicted 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Broderick will teach at Pacifica Graduate Institute and open a
couples-counseling private practice with his wife.
A lawsuit against American Indian Health & Services
scheduled to go to trial January 17 has been delayed until May to
fit court calendars. The plaintiffs are former clinic
administrative staff who allege they were fired because they were
not Native American; the clinic director has responded that he
replaced them with a more qualified team who are not Native
American either.
Close on the heels of federal drug agents’ raid of 11 medical
marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood, Carpinteria city
councilmembers voted unanimously to ban similar clubs in their
town, citing concerns about crime and conflicts with federal law.
Although marijuana advocates suggested that drug users and crime
are also associated with liquor stores, councilmembers voted to
extend their city’s current moratorium in order to allow staff
sufficient time to draft an official ordinance. In the meantime,
those seeking the palliative balm will have to drive up the road to
Santa Barbara, home to nine dispensaries.