Pubdate: Mon, 7 Sep 2009
Source: Marin Independent Journal (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Marin Independent Journal
Contact:  http://www.marinij.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/673
Author: Mark Prado
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

MEDICAL POT DEPOT BEGINNING TO FORM IN SAUSALITO

A one-stop pot complex is beginning to form on a Sausalito street as 
city officials try to figure out how to address the businesses in the 
business of medical marijuana distribution.

The city's moratorium on marijuana dispensaries was challenged by 
Gate Five Caregivers, which opened in September 2008, but then closed 
months later.

Last month the Caregiver Compassion Group opened at 495 Gate Five 
Road, even though city officials said it was denied a permit.

On the front of the building an 8-by-11-inch signs read: "Medical 
Cannabis Patients, Medicine Has Arrived (again.)"

Caregiver Compassion Group co-president Berta Bollinger acknowledged 
she does not have city permits to operate, but she said she views 
medical marijuana as a civil rights issue.

"It's just sick people who are trying to get their medicine," said 
Bollinger, who called her business is a nonprofit operation. "We run 
a tight ship here. People need to have their doctor's notes."

The facility has its own security, burglar alarms, security cameras 
and night patrols.

City officials, however, said the business does not have the proper 
permits to operate, and they are in the process of sending it a 
letter asking it to come into compliance or face fines beginning at 
$100 that get progressively steeper.

"They came in and inquired about a permit and were denied and then 
they opened up anyway," said Jeremy Graves, the city's planning director.

Because a permit violation is a civil and not a criminal matter, 
Sausalito police have little power to shut a business down unless 
there is illegal activity occurring.

Despite the lack of permits, Bollinger said she has been well 
received by law enforcement.

"They have been very respectful and wave and say 'hi.' Maybe they 
heard we are not messing around. We want to be an asset in our 
community," said Bollinger, who expects to eventually see between 500 
and 750 patients a month.

Police Chief Scott Paulin said his department hasn't received 
complaints about the Caregiver Compassion Group, but he has concerns 
about medical marijuana dispensaries.

"The state law is rife with people who abuse it," he said. 
"Compassionate use of marijuana was the intent of the law, but for 
some it's a way to get recreational drugs more readily."

Two other businesses not associated with Caregiver Compassion Group 
are also hoping to operate in the building.

The city did grant Canna Care Cafe a permit to run an office that 
counsels people seeking medical marijuana, but operator Joe Tremolada 
of San Rafael was denied a permit to grow and distribute the drug 
based on the city's moratorium.

"I believe the current policy is in conflict with state law," 
Tremolada told the City Council last week. "I think that happened 
because of an unclarity in state law as well."

Tremolada also says the denial is a violation of civil rights and 
plans to keep pursuing the issue as he begins to get his business up 
and running.

"I'm not going away," he said Friday.

A third medical marijuana-related business, American Growers Exchange 
of Sonoma, is also interested in setting up shop at the Gate Five 
Road building, according to city officials.

Steven Egri, who owns the building, said he doesn't see anything 
wrong with them.

"It's legal, it's a state law, this is for medical purposes and I 
don't see anything wrong with the concept," he said. "People should 
be able to get medical marijuana in a safe way."

Proposition 215, approved in 1996 by 55.6 percent of California 
voters - and 76 percent in Marin - made it legal for patients and 
caregivers to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical treatment 
as recommended by a doctor. The federal government, however, has 
never recognized the legitimacy of the state law.

Last summer Attorney General Jerry Brown ordered a crackdown on 
medical marijuana clubs that are generating big profits. Brown also 
issued an 11-page directive outlining the rules such clubs must 
observe to be legal: they must operate as nonprofit collectives or 
cooperatives and pay sales tax, and they are prohibited from buying 
marijuana from illegal commercial growers. They must obtain their 
marijuana from patients or caregivers, who may grow no more than 12 
immature or six mature plants.

In addition to the Sausalito dispensary, two medical marijuana 
dispensaries opened this summer in Corte Madera and one opened 
earlier this year in Novato. The Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana 
in Fairfax has operated for the past 13 years. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake