Pubdate: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA) Copyright: 2008 The Desert Sun Contact: http://local2.thedesertsun.com/mailer/opinionwrap.php Website: http://www.thedesertsun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112 Note: Does not accept LTEs from outside circulation area. Author: K Kaufmann, The Desert Sun Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) NEW POT DISPENSARY IN VALLEY Mayor: Shop Has License - but Not for Marijuana A new medical marijuana dispensary called Essential Herbs and Oils has been open about a month in Cathedral City. The business is located at 68-487 E. Palm Canyon Drive in a commercial complex that includes a dental office and insurance firm. A woman answering a phone at Essential Herbs and Oils on Monday would not give her name but confirmed it is a dispensary and that the facility has a business license from the city. Cathedral City Mayor Kathy DeRosa confirmed that Essential Herbs and Oils does have a business license. But, she said, "It is not for medical marijuana." The license, issued Nov. 5, lists the owners as Virginia Hurn and Teresa Sotelo. It also describes the business as a spice and extract manufacturer and spice and herb retailer. Anthony Curiale, attorney for Essential Herbs, countered that the descriptions on the license are irrelevant. "There is no legal definition of a dispensary," Curiale said. "A business license is not for the purpose of regulation. It's for the purpose of generating revenue for the city." Cathedral City has no law either allowing or banning medical marijuana dispensaries. Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage are the only two valley cities with neither a ban nor moratorium in force. Indian Wells, La Quinta and Palm Desert have bans. Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indio and Palm Springs have moratoriums. DeRosa would not comment on whether the Cathedral City dispensary might spur the city to take action on the issue. The store joins two other existing dispensaries in the valley, both in Palm Springs - Compassionate Caregivers and the Collective Apothecary of Palm Springs. Both are operating in violation of the city's moratorium on dispensaries, originally passed in March 2006. Palm Springs officials have been working on a law that would allow small patients' cooperatives in the city, but not dispensaries, said City Attorney Doug Holland. "It will deal with six or more patients or their caregivers," Holland said. "If you have too many in a group, (there are) too many plants in one location." A draft of the law could be ready for review this month, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake