Pubdate: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA) Copyright: 2011 The Desert Sun Contact: http://local2.thedesertsun.com/mailer/opinionwrap.php Website: http://www.mydesert.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112 BAN ON ILLEGAL MARIJUANA PROVIDERS MUST BE ENFORCED Riverside County supervisors are right to shut down all illegal medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated areas. The Board of Supervisors outlawed dispensaries in 2006, as has every city in the county except Palm Springs. However, county officials estimate there are now at least 36 illegal pot dispensaries, not counting the ones in cities. There's a cluster of 11 of them in, of all places, unincorporated Thousand Palms, which has less than 8,000 residents. Even Palm Springs, which allows up to three dispensaries or collectives to operate legally, has 10 of them and home-delivery services. Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize the county's attorneys to sue any pot shops in the unincorporated area and the property owners who allow them to operate. Many elected leaders are concerned that even though California voters approved medical marijuana 15 years ago, marijuana itself is still regarded by the federal government as a Schedule I drug, right up there with heroin, LSD and Ecstasy. That's why it can't be distributed at pharmacies, which are controlled by the Federal Drug Administration. Some believe the dispensaries attract a criminal element. Cities and counties should have a right to ban them. That was upheld by an Appellate Court decision last month in a case involving the city of Riverside and Lanny Swerdlow, a Whitewater resident and outspoken proponent of medical marijuana. Supervisors said they were "buoyed" by that decision to approve the crackdown. The Desert Sun supports the use of medical marijuana for people in pain. It is a compassionate act by California and 14 other states. But it must be tightly controlled, not a loose network for random residents to get high. A ban that is not enforced is meaningless. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.