Pubdate: Mon, 04 Feb 2013 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2013 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Roxana Kopetman, Orange County Register Note: Register writers Joanna Clay, Sarah de Crescenzo, Jaimee Lynn Fletcher, Josh Francis, Andrew Galvin, Ron Gonzales, Jennifer Karmarkar, Douglas Morino, Mike Reicher and Sarah Tully contributed to this report. CAN CITIES BAN POT CLINICS? STATE HIGH COURT TAKES UP ISSUE The state Supreme Court is poised to begin hearing arguments Tuesday on whether cities and counties can ban medical marijuana dispensaries a ruling long awaited by both the municipalities that want to get rid of the clinics and the patients who say the medical cannabis is their life-saver. Most Orange County cities prohibit the dispensaries. In recent years, hundreds have opened up across the county. Some cities, like Dana Point, have chased the clinics out of town. A few, like Costa Mesa and Lake Forest, asked federal agents to step in and help shut them down. Laguna Woods, a retirement community in South County, is unique in that it allows the dispensaries. But the city doesn't have any. Meanwhile, in Santa Ana, where clinics have been banned since 2007 but some 70 are open, medical marijuana proponents recently presented signatures to place a measure on the ballot to let voters decide. And in Garden Grove, which has one of the county's largest concentrations of clinics, there's a ban but no enforcement. "We're not enforcing our own laws because we don't want to have big lawsuits," said Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater. "We're sort of in limbo until that case goes before the Supreme Court." That's happening Tuesday, when the court will consider the case of City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient's Health and Wellness Center Inc. A decision is expected this spring. Both sides are looking for guidance and an answer to the confusion caused by contradictory decisions from lower courts. "There have been conflicting decisions from appellate courts. And there is no clear and complete and concise regulatory system from the Legislature. That's why this will be an important ruling," said Lake Forest attorney Matthew Pappas. He is the lead lawyer in a different case involving the city of Long Beach. That case was headed to the state's highest court but was pulled when Long Beach repealed its ordinance creating a lottery for dispensaries. Pappas, who represents some 40 cases involving medical marijuana issues in California, said he expects the state Supreme Court will find "a balance between the need to ensure public health safety and welfare with the need of society to be concerned about and afford the medication needed to its seriously ill citizens." Jeffrey Dunn, an Irvine-based attorney representing Riverside before the high court, said his case has nothing to do with the merits of medical marijuana. Simply put, he said, federal law bans marijuana. And he expects the court will rule in his favor. "California cannot authorize what federal law prohibits. That's the crux of the argument," Dunn said. In 1996, California voters approved the Compassionate Use Act. It allowed patients with a valid doctor's recommendation to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use and asked the state and the federal government to create a safe and affordable system. In 2003, the California Legislature approved a program that included providing medical marijuana users with identification cards. Opponents contend that it is not difficult to acquire a doctor's note for medical pot and complain that the dispensaries attract recreational drug users and increase crime. Supporters argue that the bans hurt the people who need the medication the most. "I take it for pain," said Marla James, director of the Orange County chapter of Americans for Safe Access, a national organization promoting safe and legal access to marijuana for therapeutic use and research. James has battled flesh-eating bacteria. She's a lost a leg to diabetes. And she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Medical marijuana offers her relief from pain without the side effects of traditional strong drugs, she said. Like others on both sides of the issue, James said she welcomes a higher court ruling. "It's so confusing right now," she said. Register writers Joanna Clay, Sarah de Crescenzo, Jaimee Lynn Fletcher, Josh Francis, Andrew Galvin, Ron Gonzales, Jennifer Karmarkar, Douglas Morino, Mike Reicher and Sarah Tully contributed to this report. [sidebar] Status of pot outlets in O.C. Anaheim The City Council had a moratorium on the establishment of new medical-marijuana dispensaries that expired Jan. 18. The moratorium lasted two years the maximum amount of time allowed. Anaheim has had a ban on dispensaries since 2007. The city's law was challenged in court by medical-marijuana patients who said it unfairly restricted their rights, but that case has been wrapped up in appeals. Dozens of medical-marijuana dispensaries have operated in Anaheim. - -Sarah Tully Costa Mesa Costa Mesa has an ordinance that bans medical marijuana dispensaries, but some dispensaries opened around 2009 anyway. Roughly 40 stores were operating until city officials requested that the U.S. Department of Justice regulate the shops. Then, in early 2012, federal drug officials sent letters to the dispensaries and demanded they close. Most did. Advocates are lobbying city officials to draft an ordinance that would allow dispensaries. - - Mike Reicher Dana Point Dana Point got rid of all the dispensaries operating in the city by 2011, but they are still working to recover damages from three former dispensaries. The city had a summary judgment of $2.4 million against Beach Cities Collective overturned by an appeals court and awaits a new judgment after the case was sent back to trial court. The city is involved in another lawsuit with Holistic Health, a dispensary that closed in 2011. Holistic Health is appealing a $2.68 million judgment against them. The city is also in the process of collecting a $1.9 million judgment from The Point Alternative Care, which did not appeal a court ruling against them. - - Josh Francis Garden Grove Garden Grove has one of the largest concentrations of medical marijuana dispensaries in the county at least 60. In 2008, the city banned dispensaries. But clinics popped up. To get a handle on them, the City Council in 2011 passed an emergency ordinance requiring dispensaries to register. Many more came in. The council put the brakes on the registration of dispensaries last year, pending a ruling by the California Supreme Court. For now, the city is not enforcing its ban as it awaits the court's ruling. - - Roxana Kopetman Huntington Beach While Huntington Beach has not faced major conflicts with medical marijuana dispensaries, annexing the previously county-run Sunset Beach proposed somewhat of a challenge. Sunset Beach was known in the county as a place that housed various collectives and dispensaries. When Surf City moved to absorb Sunset Beach in 2010, Huntington Beach officials said if the dispensaries were operating legally and with a permit they would be able to stay. County officials said none of the businesses had valid licenses and gave the dispensaries a January 2011 deadline to move out or face a fine. The businesses moved out before Huntington Beach took over, officials said. - - Jaimee Lynn Fletcher Lake Forest Beginning in 2009, Lake Forest spent nearly $1 million to close nearly 40 medical marijuana shops in the city. Following a request by Lake Forest City Attorney Scott Smith for federal help, agents in October 2011 raided a strip mall center where eight dispensaries refused to shut down. They closed last fall. All pot shops in the city are now closed. - - Sarah de Crescenzo La Habra La Habra leaders in late January approved an ordinance banning medical-marijuana dispensaries. The 45-day emergency moratorium, which can be extended for another 22 months and 15 days, outlaws medical-marijuana dispensaries from opening or operating in the city. La Habra officials said there were no dispensaries or delivery services operating legally in the city, although some have illegally opened without city approvals or permits. Two dispensaries were recently shut down by the federal government, said Carlos Jaramillo, deputy director of Community Development. And despite the new city regulations, one dispensary is still operating in the city. - - Douglas Morino Laguna Niguel Laguna Niguel has a medical marijuana dispensary operating in violation of the city's zoning code, which doesn't allow pot clinics. City Manager Tim Casey said the city is suing the Suite A, also known as Laguna Health, alleging a violation. On Friday, Suite A officials said they have no plans to leave. A jury trial is scheduled for the city's case on July 22. - - Joanna Clay Laguna Woods Perhaps because of its demographics, Laguna Woods in 2008 became the first city in Orange County to allow medical marijuana dispensaries. "There are many, many people who live in this community that depend on medical marijuana to improve their quality of life," said Mayor Bob Ring, who was councilman at the time of the unanimous City Council vote. Ring said no medical marijuana dispensaries are operating in Laguna Woods, likely because few locations would qualify due to state laws restricting where one can operate. In November 2010, the Golden Rain Foundation, a non-profit corporation that oversees recreation facilities in Laguna Woods Village, banned residents from growing medical marijuana in the community garden centers. - - Jennifer Karmarkar Santa Ana In 2007, the Santa Ana City Council passed a measure that outlaws storefront medical-marijuana dispensaries, but left the door open for hospitals and other state-licensed care centers to provide the drug. Residents, nonetheless, have complained about a proliferation of marijuana dispensaries, especially along 17th Street. The city issues both fines and warning notices, and has conducted a number of sweeps, focusing on particular areas or concerns. Both operators of dispensaries and their landlords face fines. Proponents of medical marijuana recently submitted nearly 17,000 signatures to let Santa Ana voters decide whether the city should allow dispensaries to operate in the city. The proposed measure, sponsored by the Committee to Support Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative PAC, would set up a process through which dispensaries could operate in only certain zones and in return pay a 2 percent tax. - - Ron Gonzales Orange County Under a county ordinance adopted in 2010, marijuana dispensaries are not permitted in unincorporated areas of Orange County. - - Andrew Galvin - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D