Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jun 2005
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/local_government/story/ 
13073686p-13918952c.html
Copyright: 2005 The Sacramento Bee
Contact:  http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Note: Does not publish letters from outside its circulation area.
Author: Jennifer K. Morita, Bee Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich ( www.angeljustice.org/ )
Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration ( www.dea.gov )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

ROSEVILLE STUBS OUT ITS MEDICAL POT LAW

Council Cites Supreme Court Decision On Federal Supremacy.

Taking its cue from the highest court in the nation, the Roseville 
City Council terminated a local law Wednesday night that allowed 
medical marijuana shops to operate in some parts of town.

"The ruling (by the U.S. Supreme Court) was clear which law 
prevails," Councilman Jim Gray said. "We all swore to uphold the laws 
of the state of California and the United States of America."

Roseville is the first city in the region to repeal an ordinance 
regulating medical marijuana shops after last week's top-court decision.

The court ruled that federal authorities can prosecute pot users in 
California - or other states with similar laws - on federal charges, 
despite the voter-approved initiative that legalized the use of 
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

The only marijuana shop that has operated in Roseville shut down 
after a federal raid last fall. The city's legal concern, now that 
its regulatory ordinance has been overturned by the council, is that 
other pot clubs may try to open with just a standard business license.

"What we do know now is that anyone in possession of marijuana in 
California is still subject to prosecution by federal authorities," 
City Attorney Mark Doane said. "Given the state of affairs, it would 
be an anomaly to have an ordinance that implicitly allows the 
dispersal of marijuana."

Doane added that he'll return to the council soon with a 
recommendation to ban pot shops entirely.

But several patient advocates appealed to the council to keep the 
ordinance in place.

"To take any act that causes sick, dying and desperate people any 
more pain is an outrageous act," Loomis resident Rosemary Roberts 
said. "Many cities are watching what happens here tonight. I'm asking 
you to fight the good fight. Stand for the rights of the sick 
citizens who are depending on your help and your compassion."

Ryan Landers, California director of the American Alliance for 
Medical Cannabis, told the council that he depends on marijuana to 
control nausea and keep down the handful of pills he has to take for 
full-blown AIDs.

"You are not bound tonight to take any action in accordance with 
federal laws," Landers said. "What you'll be forcing people to do is 
drive to the Bay Area for their medication, or go to illegal street dealers.

"There are no clubs here in Roseville now. Where's the harm in 
letting this stand?"

Compassionate Coalition representative Nathan Sands argued that 
Roseville is compelled to follow state laws before federal ones, and 
said California cities that enacted similar ordinances have not faced 
any legal challenges.

"Before you had this ordinance, anybody could open a dispensary 
anywhere," Sands said.

Since the court's ruling, officials in other Sacramento area cities 
said they'll be taking another look at their pot shop policies.

As more medical marijuana clubs opened dispensaries throughout 
California following voter approval in 1996, cities and counties 
scrambled to come up with guidelines for them.

In the Sacramento region, Roseville, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights and 
Davis opted to regulate medical marijuana shops. Rancho Cordova and 
Galt put temporary moratoriums on pot shops while officials, who were 
watching the Supreme Court case, tried to craft regulations.

The Placer County cities of Rocklin and Lincoln decided to prohibit 
dispensaries entirely.

Roseville passed its ordinance regulating medical marijuana 
dispensaries in May 2004, four months after Richard Marino opened 
Capitol Compassionate Care with a standard business license.

When other groups began inquiring about opening dispensaries in 
Roseville, the council unanimously approved the ordinance that 
allowed such shops only in some commercial and industrial areas.

The ordinance also required special permits, limited business hours 
and prohibited the use or sale of any drug paraphernalia.

Doane told the council that if the ordinance stayed in place, a new 
dispensary could open in Roseville and promptly get shut down by the 
federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

"What we're trying to do is not put you in that situation," he said.

Marino's shop was raided by the DEA last September and no other 
dispensaries have opened in Roseville.