Pubdate: Wed, 22 Sep 2010
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Page: AA4
Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Times
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/bc7El3Yo
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Raja Abdulrahim
Cited: Proposition 19 http://yeson19.com/
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/find?272 (Proposition 19)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - U.S.)

O.C. POT SHOPS EXIST IN GRAY ZONE

Supervisors Reject a Bid for a Temporary Ban on Dispensaries in 
Unincorporated Areas.

The Buddha and bamboo shoots are gone.

In their place is an empty home - except for the metal detector - 
that until recently was the site of one of half a dozen marijuana 
dispensaries that opened up in the last year in tiny Sunset Beach.

The dispensary, West County Patient Collective Assn., packed up and 
left this summer, saying it had been strung along by the county in 
getting a conditional use permit to sell medicinal marijuana. The 
collective's volunteers saw the case as one of selective 
discrimination, but residents and officials viewed the association as 
an example of unwelcome businesses taking advantage of a lack of laws 
governing marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of Orange County.

John Griggs, who headed the collective, said he had believed it would 
be welcome in Sunset Beach, a coastal enclave adjacent to Huntington Beach.

"Because it's unincorporated and the county had nothing on their 
books and it gave us a legal way to open up," he said.

On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors rejected a 
temporary moratorium on permits for marijuana collectives or 
cooperatives in unincorporated areas. The ban will be reconsidered in 
November, but not until after the state election, in which California 
voters will decide whether to legalize the nonmedical use and 
possession of marijuana.

Supervisor Janet Nguyen said residents of Midway City, a small 
unincorporated community surrounded by Westminster, have also noticed 
dispensaries opening up, some near schools.

Many of the county's 34 cities have restricted such operations, 
leading collectives to look to the relatively small amount of 
unincorporated territory.

"We do face this issue in our small areas, and we don't know about it 
until there are complaints," she said at Tuesday's board meeting.

The moratorium, billed as urgent, was intended to give the county 
time to assess what the consequences will be if Proposition 19 
passes. Approval of the initiative could require the county to 
reassess what little regulation is currently in place.

Dispensaries aren't explicitly allowed or forbidden under county 
code, but are required to get use permits because they are seen as 
having moderate to high potential for adverse effects on the 
surrounding community, according to a memorandum sent out by the 
county chief executive's office in July.

Currently there are 11 non-permitted marijuana storefronts in 
unincorporated areas, according to the county. One dispensary is 
applying for a permit from the planning department.

Dispensaries in the county's cities are subject to local laws, but 
those in unincorporated areas seem to have existed in regulation gray 
zones. The county does not issue general business licenses. There are 
certain types of businesses that the Sheriff's Department licenses, 
including escort services and public baths, but marijuana collectives 
are not among them.

The department has been investigating marijuana dispensaries for two 
years and recently served a warrant at one in Sunset Beach. But 
deputies look only for violations of state health and safety laws not 
county regulations, said Lt. Adam Powell, who heads the department's 
narcotics unit.

Supervisors John Moorlach and Shawn Nelson rejected the idea that the 
need for a moratorium was urgent since the county has never approved 
a dispensary permit.

Supervisor Patricia Bates said the moratorium would send a message to 
dispensaries not to open until the county figured out its regulation policy.

In Sunset Beach it's not clear how many dispensaries are still in business.

At the location of the former West County collective, a man who was 
recently working on the building said another dispensary was opening 
up and at least two others in the area were still operating as of last week.

For some, it is an example of what could happen if regulation of 
dispensaries remains vague.

"We didn't need a concentration of them," said Greg Griffin, 
president of the Sunset Beach Community Assn. "I didn't think we 
needed six dispensaries." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake