Pubdate: Thu, 5 Jan 2006
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2006 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Author: Valerie A. Avalos, The Fresno Bee
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

TULARE COUNCIL OKS POT MEASURES

Ordinances Address Use of Medical Marijuana.

TULARE -- The Tulare City Council unanimously approved three
ordinances Tuesday that outline where and how medical marijuana may be
distributed in the city.

The issue came to light when James McLean took out a business license
in Tulare and started selling the drug to patients with prescriptions.
While city leaders had concerns about the disbursement of marijuana to
patients, they did not want to engage in a costly legal battle.

"We're all treading on new ground, and we're going to have to play
this by ear as we move along. The federal government makes it illegal.
The state says it's legal. We're caught in the middle," Mayor Richard
Ortega said. "We're going into no man's land to see how this would
work ... but if things get out of hand, we certainly may have to do
something. We certainly are not going to allow a person to go out and
smoke this stuff in public."

Council Member Craig Vejvoda said he believes approving the ordinance
is a good move because it allows people to get medical marijuana.

"It enables them to get the prescription filled in a way that does not
impose a danger in our city or to our youth," Vejvoda said.

McLean says the ordinances are a step in the right direction. He will
have 90 days to apply for a business license under the new rules.

California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act,
in November 1996. The law allows patients or their caregivers to
possess or cultivate marijuana for medical purposes when the patient
has a doctor's written recommendation.

Yet under federal law, marijuana remains illegal. Last year, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that federal agents can enforce the federal
prohibition in California or any other state with medical marijuana
laws.

Tulare's new ordinances are similar to those approved in Visalia last
year, where a dispensary has operated since late 2004.

Tulare's ordinances include thorough background checks for the
operator and managers; limits on how much marijuana can be kept on
hand; prohibiting the use of medical marijuana in public; restricting
businesses to the city's C-2 zoning areas for professional offices or
in the downtown office district and forbidding dispensaries from being
located within 1,000 feet of a public or private elementary or high
school.

Yet, if Vice Mayor Phil Vandegrift has his say, this issue will not
end here.

He proposes that city staff study Kern County's Medical Marijuana ID
Card program approved by the Board of Supervisors in December.The new
program will issue identification cards to qualified patients that
allow them to grow, smoke and transport a small amount of marijuana
for medical purposes.

Vandegrift would like to see patients register with the city and pay a
$100 fee.

He said this is a win-win situation for the city and patients.

"If other cities have enacted permits for patients, then I would like
to use that," said Vandegrift. "I saw we need to know who these people
are and make sure who is walking around carrying it. This can protect
their rights as prescription-holder marijuana users. We can protect
their interest if they get stopped."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake