Pubdate: Wed, 13 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 Cited: City of Cathedral City http://www.cathedralcity.gov/Admin/cityatto.htm http://www.cathedralcity.gov/Admin/cityman.htm Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/marijuana+dispensary Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) CITY HALL MAKES FEDERAL CASE AGAINST NEW POT DISPENSARY Cathedral City has filed a request for a federal injunction against Essential Herbs and Oils, a medical marijuana dispensary on E. Palm Canyon Drive. The five-page legal request, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Riverside, asks the court to rule on whether the city has to comply with the California's medical marijuana law, which it says violates federal law. "(The city) is not required to comply with state law enacted by voters in direct conflict with federal statute interpreted by the United States Supreme Court as establishing that local and state governments cannot allow marijuana possession even if used for medicinal purposes," City Attorney Charles R. Green argued in the request. Essential Herbs intends to remain open "for a long time," said a woman answering the phone at the shop, who declined to give her name. Federal law bans all sale and use of marijuana. California state law allows medical use for patients with a doctor's letter of recommendation. A U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2005 case of Gonzales vs. Raich that federal law does trump state law. Following the ruling, former state Attorney General Bill Lockyer issued a letter saying it did not affect California's medical use laws. Current Attorney General Jerry Brown last year declined to issue an opinion on the legality of dispensaries. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake