Pubdate: 9 May 2011 Source: Valley Chronicle, The (Hemet, CA) Copyright: 2011 The Valley Chronicle Website: http://www.thevalleychronicle.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5259 Author: Charles Hand Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) CLOSED SESSION AFTER RECOMMENDATION A recommendation by San Jacinto City Attorney Jeff Ballinger to bring the city's business license law into line with its ban on illegal businesses was sidetracked by Councilman Steve Di Memmo on Tuesday when Di Memmo insisted the issue be discussed in closed session. Though he was not specific about the reason for his position, Di Memmo said it involved litigation. The city has been sued by operators of a medical marijuana collective for declaring the business illegal and demanding that it shut down. Although the litigation can be discussed in closed session, a city attorney recommendation cannot since it does not qualify under one of the Brown Act requirements for closed-session discussion. Ballinger said the litigation could be taken into closed session and discussion of the proposed ordinance delayed. Ballinger's recommendation would prohibit the issuance of any "city license, permit or other entitlement" to an illegal business. The city has banned marijuana dispensaries. The legal underpinning for the ban comes from the conflict between state and federal law. State law allows nonprofit dispensaries to provide marijuana to patients who get prescriptions from their doctors. Several such dispensaries have opened in San Jacinto and Hemet in recent months. Both cities have notified the dispensaries they are in violation of city law and demanded that they close. State law regulating marijuana dispensaries is based on a 1996 voter initiative that authorized use of the drug for certain medical conditions and the state law passed by the Legislature to codify it, according to Ballinger's staff report. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that, where state and federal law conflict, federal law prevails and that it is illegal to manufacture, distribute, dispense, or possess any controlled substance, marijuana included, under federal law, according to the report. San Jacinto subsequently banned marijuana dispensaries. Ballinger's recommendation on business licenses is intended to align those regulations with the ban on marijuana dispensaries, he said. "You'd think they were in sync, but they aren't," Ballinger told the council. "I think there's more to discuss about this," Di Memmo said in recommending that it be referred to closed session. He did not elaborate. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake