Pubdate: Wed, 05 Oct 2005
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2005 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Author: Tim Sheehan
Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration ( www.dea.gov )

VISALIA CRAFTS NEW RULES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Ordinance tries to squeeze between state, federal laws.

VISALIA -- City officials walking a tightrope between conflicting
state and federal laws approved a new ordinance to regulate
production, distribution and use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Deputy City Attorney Alex Peltzer said the ordinance is needed to help
the city navigate the choppy straits between the will of California
voters and the determination of federal drug agents and
prosecutors.

"It's abundantly clear that federal law is enforceable in California,"
Peltzer told the Visalia City Council on Monday. "What's less than
clear is the state law."

Final approval of the ordinance by the City Council is expected Oct.
17, when only minor changes are anticipated.

Spurring the ordinance is the presence of one medical cannabis
distributor and the potential for others to start without any form of
regulation.

"Our goal is not to forge new ground, but to create local guidelines
. ," Peltzer said, "[and] to ensure that the state law is being
complied with locally."

The ordinance sets up a license process for operations that produce or
distribute marijuana to qualified patients and restricts them to
pockets zoned for service commercial use.

Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, was approved by California
voters in November 1996. It allows people to possess or cultivate
marijuana for medical purposes when deemed appropriate by a doctor.

The measure, Peltzer said, "provides a defense for what would be a
crime" to patients and their caregivers.

But under federal law, which does not recognize that defense,
marijuana remains illegal. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
federal agents can enforce federal prohibition in California or other
states with medical marijuana laws.

"While that gets sorted out, we need some local rules," Peltzer
said.

Police, Peltzer said, "are particularly affected by the conflict
between state and federal law." Without firm local rules, it is
difficult for police to distinguish between illicit marijuana
trafficking or use and cultivation or distribution for medical use.

Other concerns include the potential for medical cannabis operations to
be targeted by burglars and diversion of the crop into illegal
channels.

And because local zoning laws make no mention of medical marijuana,
city officials have no mechanism to approve or deny applications for
cannabis operations, no means to enforce conditions and no recourse to
handle complaints from neighbors.

"It seems all sides agree that regulations are necessary," Peltzer
said.

Medical marijuana user Jeff Nunes operates Visalia Compassionate
Caregivers, a dispensary providing marijuana to more than 300 patients
who qualify under Proposition 215. He is pleased to see regulations
for his and other operations, but also sees room for improvement of
the law.

"I count this as a first step that is well taken. Regulation is
definitely what this needs," said Nunes, who asked the City Council in
March for rules permitting responsible use, cultivation and
distribution of medical marijuana for those who need it.

But Nunes said the zoning restrictions are too narrow and thinks the
city is making more work for itself by limiting cultivation to a
maximum of 99 plants. Nunes, who earlier this year proposed a 500-
plant farm, said the smaller limit "means more farms for the Police
Department to watch."

Nunes asked the city to postpone the ordinance, but council members
appear ready to move forward.

"Changing their minds is going to take more of a process," Nunes
said.

One mind he won't change is that of Don Landers, who was on the losing
side of the 4-1 vote approving the ordinance.

"I don't support medical marijuana, I don't condone it and I'm not
going to vote for it," said Landers, a Tulare County sheriff's
lieutenant. "I've spent 34 years of my life in law enforcement, eight
of that in narcotics. ... I've seen what happens to people who start
off with 'medical' marijuana."

Landers pointed out that marijuana is a Class 1 narcotic, "in the same
classification as heroin," and that extensive testing by the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration "has been unable to prove any definitive
medical value to marijuana."

But, he added, he is realistic about being outnumbered on the council
and said he simply hopes to make sure the ordinance is as strong as it
can be.

"Under the current state of affairs in California, it's about as good
as it's going to get," he said of the law, "but I don't think there's
anything good about it."