Pubdate: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 Source: Kingsburg Recorder (CA) Website: http://www.kingsburgrecorder.com/ Contact: 2010 Lee Newspapers Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5227 Author: Jenny McGill MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE COULD BE ILLEGAL IN KINGSBURG Medical marijuana dispensaries and medical cooperatives and the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana could be illegal soon in Kingsburg. The Kingsburg City Council voted Dec. 1 to begin the process to not allow any of these medical marijuana uses in Kingsburg. The new rule will take effect after the City Council approves the second reading of the ordinance on Dec. 15 and the ordinance is published, said Don Pauley, Kingsburg city manager. The council had previously voted in November and December 2009 approving moratoriums on not allowing the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives in Kingsburg after the city had received inquiries about opening them. Those moratoriums expired Nov. 1 this year. This proposed new city law came about after the November defeat of Proposition 19 -- the regulate, control and tax marijuana act. According to Kingsburg City Attorney Michael Noland, in light of the defeat of Proposition 19, federal and state laws continue to prohibit the possession, sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana. Noland on Dec. 1 told council members how other cities are handling the medical marijuana issue and the court cases that have happened after establishing those laws. He said in one such case the court decided that it is OK for cities to restrict the operations of medical marijuana dispensaries and medical marijuana cooperatives and to not have areas they can be allowed in. Noland said that since several serious crimes have happened in Fresno County over the outdoor cultivation of marijuana -- in September in Fresno a man was shot allegedly stealing medical marijuana plants from an outdoor garden -- Kingsburg should not allow outdoor medical marijuana growing. "Staff believes it is in the best interest of the citizens of the city of Kingsburg and for their specific health, safety and welfare that medical marijuana not be cultivated outdoors so as to attempt to reduce, to the greatest extent possible, any criminal activity that may result from the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana," Noland wrote in a report to the council. He added that "it appears cultivation of small amounts of medial marijuana...can be adequately accomplished through indoor cultivation." The city's new ruling adds a new section to the zoning ordinance regarding medical marijuana. "It is a prohibited use in any zone district in the city," Noland said. In 1996, California voters approved a proposition allowing the distribution and use of marijuana for doctor-approved medical reasons, but the federal government then ruled that medical marijuana is illegal. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt