Pubdate: Fri, 15 May 2009
Source: Union, The (Grass Valley, CA)
Copyright: 2009 The Union
Contact: http://apps.theunion.com/utils/forms/lettertoeditor/
Website: http://www.theunion.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/957
Author: David Mirhadi, Staff Writer

MEDI-POT PROSPECT OPENS CANNABIS OF WORMS

Nevada County Assistant District Attorney Anna Ferguson cast a wary
eye Thursday at anyone looking to open a medical marijuana dispensary,
one day after the City Council set a 45-day moratorium on the opening
of such shops in Nevada City.

The move comes less than a month after the Grass Valley City Council
passed a similar measure.

Nevada City leaders unanimously passed an emergency measure barring
dispensaries within the city until they could craft a regulating ordinance.

Nevada City resident Harry Bennett approached the City Council earlier
this week about opening a store to sell medical marijuana to patients
with a prescription, under California's Proposition 215 passed 13 years ago.

Bennett pulled a business license in April, he said. He's considering
renting a space on Uren Street.

Trovato and Ferguson said dispensaries lead to crime -- even as members
of the City Council asked staff to strike some of the harshest
language alluding to criminal activity from the ordinance.

We have a lot of information to gather, and we want to make sure that
we do it right, if we (allow dispensaries)," Councilman David McKay
said during Wednesday's meeting.

Opening a dispensary "absolutely will increase crime in the area
around it," Ferguson said. "There's an ugly side to the drug trade."

Police Chief Lou Trovato said Nevada City, with 3,000 residents,
doesn't need such an establishment.

We already have issues with alcohol and other pharmaceuticals. I'm
opposed to these kinds of places because they attract a certain
element of people," Trovato added.

Ferguson said she was caught between state law, which doesn't prohibit
dispensaries, and federal law, which does.

Before we get into a bind, let's look and see how we can best protect
our citizens," Trovato added.

Regional Dispensaries

In January, a South Lake Tahoe medical marijuana
clinic was shut down when U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officers and a
narcotics task force raided the place. It was not being targeted for
selling marijuana, but for violating a city code that prohibits
clinics that violate local, state or federal laws, the Tahoe Daily
Tribune reported.

Proposition 215 allows caregivers and medical providers to sell
marijuana for medical treatment to people with a doctor's
recommendation.

The area's nearest medical marijuana dispensary opened in Colfax, in
Placer County, about five years ago. The owners of the dispensary
could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The clinic's owners are trying to be good neighbors by supporting
events including an annual Independence Day celebration, Colfax City
Councilman Ken Delfino.

I understand the need for medicinal marijuana and the possibility that
it can be abused," Delfino said. But the dispensary has not posed a
significant problem. "I don't have an issue with them being in town as
long as it's legitimate."

Bennett, who said he uses marijuana legally for medical purposes, said
he's trying to give people like him a safe, legal place to obtain the
drug.

I'm confident that when the council gets the information they need and
see what other cities have done... they'll come to a good plan for the
city," Bennett said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake