Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jan 2011
Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Copyright: 2011 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/letters_form.html
Website: http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
Author: Dug Begley
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries

POT PROVIDERS FACE INTENSE INLAND SCRUTINY

Medical marijuana might be legal in California but it's going to take 
a court of law to decide what that means as cities and counties push 
to ban marijuana cultivation and sales.

Shops where eligible medical marijuana patients can purchase pot are 
banned in many Inland cities, and both Riverside and San Bernardino 
counties, as those governments use zoning laws to deny business permits.

Medical marijuana-rights advocates say cities and counties need to 
give them reasonable permit guidelines to follow so clients will have 
access to pot not provided by illegal dealers.

Those on both sides of the issue are carefully watching the state's 
Fourth District Court of Appeal, which is hearing at least two cases 
connected to citywide bans on marijuana collectives. Many say the 
issue will ultimately be decided by the state's Supreme Court.

At the center of many of the disputes is the power cities have to ban 
dispensaries, which are for-profit stores that can sell pot to 
medical-marijuana patients, and their rights to use zoning laws to 
ban collectives, which are nonprofit cooperatives of growers and 
eligible patients. Collectives are legal under state law but still 
excluded by many cities.

In the meantime, officials are trying to conform to state laws 
allowing medical marijuana while obeying federal drug laws that 
outlaw marijuana cultivation and sales.

Local governments also struggle to mollify the concerns of many 
residents who don't want pot shops dotting area shopping centers.

Frank Oviedo, Wildomar's city manager, expressed frustration the 
matter had fallen to local governments to sort out. He said the 
federal government should create a framework for regulating medical 
marijuana, like it does for other pharmaceutical businesses.

As it stands now, California cities are stuck between the federal 
government, which deems pot illegal, and the state, which guarantees 
patients safe access, he said.

"Where does that leave city government?" Oviedo asked. "We don't make 
it a practice to challenge the federal government."

Much of the dispute between officials and collectives rests on 
determining who is providing compassionate care for those entitled to 
fire up a joint or eat a cannabis cookie at a collective, and those 
trying to make a buck slinging dope through a legal loophole via a dispensary.

Collective conundrum

Officials in many cities said collectives -- where patients eligible 
for medical marijuana can find others who are legally growing pot and 
then pay for their excess marijuana -- are legal. They note they are 
banning dispensaries, which operate for-profit.

Tactics vary from city to city, based on the cases. Riverside and a 
local marijuana collective -- formed to avoid retail sales of 
marijuana -- are battling in court over the collective's right to 
operate off Main Street in northern Riverside. The city considers it 
a dispensary because various growers sell their wares.

San Bernardino County has cracked down via Sheriff's Department raids 
of some suspected illegal operations, including one in Mentone where 
the operators were arrested for charging set prices, as opposed to 
donations, and not verifying people's eligibility to use medicinal marijuana.

Perris officials have cited a local cooperative for numerous building 
code violations. The Relaxed Expressions Collective and its 
pot-growing operation remain open, but city spokesman Joe Vargo said 
the case is still pending.

In Lake Elsinore, city officials are working to close a retail shop 
they say is violating a business license that specifically forbids 
medical marijuana sales. But the shop owner contends he is within the 
law and has challenged Lake Elsinore's attempt to ban marijuana sales.

The city has received some complaints about the shop, which remains 
open, said Councilman Robert Magee.

"I have seen a fear from other businesses and customers that don't 
feel comfortable," Magee said.

Skepticism of a growing and collective operation also arose in 
Wildomar, where city officials considered setting precise rules, only 
to have residents push for an outright ban.

Changing scene

As a result of raids and bans, many dispensaries are reforming as collectives.

Though legal, collectives also are finding themselves under intense 
scrutiny. Inland cities and counties are examining them to make sure 
they're legit, and targeting some for being dispensaries in disguise.

The Riverside County Sheriffs Department estimates 46 marijuana 
dispensaries and collectives are operating in the county, Deputy 
Chief Mitch Alm said, with 21 of those in unincorporated areas.

"The numbers change from day to day. They do come and go," he said.

Each of those operations is being investigated to make sure it is 
complying with state and local laws, he said. County supervisors 
reiterated the county's ban on dispensaries last month, and 
investigations could take months to complete, Alm said, so he could 
not say how many are operating illegally.

"If we investigate, and they are operating within the rules, they're 
legal," he said.

The collectives that do operate within the rules said regulations 
would help separate the legitimate operations from illegal ones, 
supporters said. But lately the cities and counties have taken a 
tough approach by targeting all medical marijuana providers, and 
supporters think it is less about the law and more about outlawing 
pot at all costs.

"Our relief will come from the courts," said Lanny Swerdlow, a nurse 
and medical marijuana advocate who helped found the Inland Empire 
Patients Health and Wellness Center on North Main Street. "We'll all 
find out where this is headed once the courts decide."

Swerdlow said he's confident marijuana advocates will win. But if 
they don't, he said bans in most areas will make finding pot 
difficult for those legally entitled to it.

Worse, for those that can't grow their own, is that the bans will 
mean much higher prices, he said.

"I don't want anyone taking Vicodin for pain relief because they 
can't afford medical marijuana," Swerdlow said.

Staff Writer John F. Hill contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom