Pubdate: Wed, 18 May 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: Julissa McKinnon Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) MENIFEE BANS POT CLINICS, FOLLOWS AREA TREND The Menifee City Council voted 3-1 Tuesday to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, following in the footsteps of six other surrounding cities and extending the prohibition to all of southwest Riverside County. A handful of residents supported the ban, citing concerns about potential health hazards and the possibility of the pot clinics becoming "magnets for crime," as resident Denis Nurmela put it. A few people opposed criminalizing dispensaries, including Councilman Tom Fuhrman's 21-year-old grandson Devin LaMon and Robert Reidel, the founder of a medical pot collective in San Diego County. Fuhrman cast the lone vote against the ban. "I know people who have (medical marijuana) cards and it does help them," Fuhrman said. "Myself, I would like to see us set up some serious regulations. The city of San Jose has done this and they have an income of over $4 million to help their city." Other council members lobbied to continue Menifee's anti-marijuana stance. In June 2009, the council temporarily outlawed marijuana clinics to give city staff time to research laws and the city's options. The moratorium was set to expire on June 15. Councilwoman Darcy Kuenzi cited the conflict between federal and state law regarding medical pot dispensaries and said she saw no benefit in allowing the businesses. Though federal law considers marijuana an illegal substance, California's Proposition 215 permits medical use of marijuana and allows card-carrying patients to possess up to six mature pot plants for personal use. Currently city officials believe there are no dispensaries in Menifee, though there have been several inquiries about establishing one, City Attorney Karen Feld said in a report. Robert Reidel, who runs Mother Earth's Alternative Healing Cooperative in San Diego County, said after the meeting that he hopes to meet with city officials to share more information and discuss ways the city could regulate medical pot-growing collectives. Reidel said marijuana illegally grown in California produces a total yearly profit of about $35 billion. "We'd like to capture that money and turn it into a legal use in a legal manner that can help us do positive things like build hospitals in our communities," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake