Pubdate: Wed, 24 Oct 2007
Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact:  http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
Author: Herbert Atienza, The Press-Enterprise
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

HEMET WANTS TO KEEP OUT MEDICAL-MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

HEMET - Alarmed by recent queries about the possibility of opening 
medical-marijuana dispensaries, City Hall is rushing an ordinance 
that would ban such types of establishments inside the city limits.

The City Council, at a study session Tuesday, reviewed policies in 
neighboring cities and directed staff to draft an ordinance that 
council members could soon approve.

"I don't think I'm ready to set up drug houses," Councilman Eric 
McBride said at the study session.

He added that if marijuana is truly legal for medical use, it should 
be sold in pharmacies.

The council discussion was prompted when Planning Director Richard 
Masyczek said that in the last month, there have been three "fairly 
serious" queries to the department about requirements for setting up 
medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Advocates of medical marijuana use say the dispensaries provide a 
valuable service to patients and should not be banned in Hemet.

"It's certainly a hardship issue for patients," said Kris Hermes, 
spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland-based advocacy 
group for medical-marijuana use and research. Hermes said patients 
who have no access locally to marijuana for medical use have to 
travel long distances to get it.

"There are people in Hemet, just like people in LA and Oakland, who 
need them," he said by phone.

Dege Coutee, president of Patient Advocacy Network, a Los 
Angeles-based medical-marijuana advocacy group, said the council 
needs to be better educated about the issue.

"These types of responses are based on the ignorance of the council 
between a medical recommendation and a prescription," she said by 
phone. "Just because they choose to ban an activity doesn't mean 
there's no need for it."

Hemet is one of at least seven Inland cities to discuss some kind of 
ordinance banning medical-marijuana dispensaries in the past year. 
Norco, Fontana and Redlands are also on that list. Earlier this year, 
federal drug enforcement authorities raided or closed four Inland 
marijuana dispensaries -- in Corona, Perris, Riverside and Norco.

State law approved by voters in 1996 allows people suffering from 
AIDS-related complications, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma and 
other diseases to use cannabis to relieve pain. Patients must first 
get a doctor's recommendation and can possess no more than 8 ounces 
of marijuana and six mature plants.

But marijuana use remains a federal crime, and federal officials view 
state and local laws as irrelevant.

At the Hemet council study session, Masyczek said the proponents of 
the potential medical-marijuana dispensaries did not identify 
themselves but inquired in detail about what steps are needed to set 
up such dispensaries.

Masyczek said he has determined that such establishments were not 
permitted in Hemet but said that the City Council should adopt an 
ordinance specifically prohibiting them.

"The clear intent is to prohibit marijuana dispensaries," he said.

At the study session, Masyczek gave the council a handout informing 
how several nearby cities have taken steps to deal with the issue:

Moreno Valley: City Council approved a moratorium in February 2007 
prohibiting new marijuana dispensaries pending the city's study on 
potential impacts.

Murrieta and Temecula: Dispensaries are prohibited within all zoning districts.

Los Angeles: City Council approved a one-year moratorium in July 
prohibiting new dispensaries.

San Marcos: Dispensaries are prohibited within all zoning districts. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake