Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jun 2010
Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2010 San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Contact: http://www.sgvtribune.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.sgvtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3725
Author: James Wagner
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries

MORE REGULATIONS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN  LA PUENTE

LA PUENTE - Medical marijuana sellers are chaffing at a  new set or 
regulations handed down by the city.

New rules want shops to open for shorter hours and  require the shops 
to maintain patient records that must  be handed over to city 
officials upon request.

For one dispensary operator, it was a puzzling move  because the City 
Council has been pushing for banning  the dispensaries.

"It doesn't make any sense if (later) they are going to  close us 
down," said Jon Salman, who runs Trinity  Wellness Group on Amar Road.

On Tuesday the City Council will consider a ordinance  banning the 
nearly 10 dispensaries in the city.

Meanwhile, the new set of rules were unanimously  approved by the 
council last week. The rules took  effect immediately.

Salman and others said their shops were already  following the rules 
even if they weren't previously  written down.

"I have no problem about that because we have been  doing that since 
day one," said Ed Esposito, an  attorney who represents THC2 
Cooperative on  Francisquito Avenue.

The dispensaries can only be open from 10 a.m. to 7  p.m. on Monday 
through Friday. On Sunday, the shops can  open at noon and must close 
at 5 p.m. Previously, the  shops were allowed to stay open from 8 
a.m. to 8 p.m.  every day.

Some dispensaries said they would suffer financially by  the shorter 
business days. Other said they would manage  but their patients would lose out.

The 10 a.m. start  was to prevent school children from stopping at 
the shops, Salman said, some of which are close to schools.

"What sense does that make?" he said. "The kids aren't  allowed in 
there in the first place."

Other parts of the ordinance limit the amount of dried  marijuana and 
plants allowed, and forces dispensaries  to track patients medical 
recommendation and  membership. It also asks the dispensaries say 
where the  marijuana comes from.

Dispensaries also must keep records, including  maintaining 
"membership records on-site of have them  reasonably available." The 
practice follows guidelines  set down by the Attorney General.

A later provision states that city officials, such as  code 
enforcement officers, and deputies "requesting  admission for the 
purpose of determining compliance  with these standards shall be 
given unrestricted  access."

In order to buy medical marijuana, a person has to join  a collective 
or cooperative, said Jamie Casso, one of  the attorneys handling the 
issue for the city.

Part of the reason is to ensure people aren't joining  multiple 
collectives or cooperatives across the city,  city officials said.

"We need to ensure they are doing it for the right  reasons," Mayor 
David Argudo said.

Salman said anyone requested the membership records  would be asking 
him to break federal medical privacy  laws known as the Health 
Insurance Portability and  Accountability Act. He said he wouldn't 
hand them over.

"I would flaunt the HIPAA guidelines right in their  face," he said.

Casso said the city won't ask any dispensaries to  violate the privacy laws.

"We would have to be respectful ... of the requirements  of HIPAA," he said.

Of the 40 cities and counties across the state with  medical 
marijuana regulations, most don't allow free  access to patients 
documents, said Kris Hermes, a  spokesman for Americans for Safe 
Access, an Oakland-based medical marijuana advocacy group.  Allowing 
access to records is a recent trend.

"I think the presumption is that people are doing bad  things but 
that should not entitle local officials to  have unfettered access to 
patient records," he said.

Argudo said the city wants to make sure the businesses  are run safely.

"Implementing restrictions and holding dispensaries  accountable for 
proper dispensing of marijuana products  is paramount to improving 
our community and holding  them to higher standards," Argudo said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom