City Councilman Goran Eriksson and Mayor Jeff Cooper have brought tintedly opposing philosophies to the dais, and their differences created a compelling pastiche at this week’s Council meeting.

Alright, boys, who is right?

Shlepping an armload of information on how smoothly – and urgently – laws on newly legalized marijuana need to be formalized, the mayor said he was hurrying for a rudimentary reason:

Not only has the maximum amount of preparatory groundwork been completed, as elected officials, he and his colleagues are obligated to render decisions efficiently, soon as possible.

Mr. Eriksson was the traffic cop.

Bravely, he emulated one of Steve Jobs’s most important observations:

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

He said numerous times Monday evening he is intellectually convinced there is no need to outrace a fire truck in making retail marijuana laws that require – demand – extensive reflection, much more than has been shown.

No one on the dais agreed with Mr. Eriksson. He stood by himself.

The welfare of families could be imperiled in the Council’s mad dash to finalize laws before Jan. 1, contended this thoughtful father of two adult sons.

His colleagues effectively looked the other way.

How did it feel to be standing alone in a crowded room on the highest-profile case of the year?

“I knew that might be the case,” Mr. Eriksson said.

“I feel there is no need to hurry. We have a responsibility to our community to learn a lot more information.

“We need to understand (what this change in the status of marijuana) really means.

“Public institutions have been doing research. They are starting to publish their findings.

“We can wait  after this information from experts becomes available to us,” Mr. Eriksson said.

“We must not start something we will regret later.”

The counter-argument is that Culver City must enact laws by the last meeting of the year, Dec. 13, or more liberal state marijuana laws will take effect here in January.

Mr. Eriksson served up a solution: “We could have drafted a resolution saying we are not allowing anything except delivery of medical marijuana, as Beverly Hills did.

“That way, we could have taken another four to six months figuring out how to do it, and also after we know what L.A. is doing. That is going to affect us also, when we know what is going to happen on Venice Boulevard,” Mr. Eriksson said.

(To be continued)