Pubdate: Sat, 09 Feb 2013
Source: Daily Press (Victorville, CA)
Copyright: 2013 Freedom Communications, Inc.
Contact: http://www.vvdailypress.com/sections/contactus/
Website: http://www.vvdailypress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1061
Author: Rene De La Cruz

MARIJUANA DISPENSARY ISSUE STILL IN LIMBO

Local Government Holds Its Ground On Collectives

Medical marijuana patients in the Victor Valley held their collective
breath as the California Supreme Court heard arguments this week on
whether local governments can ban retail pot dispensaries.

"The government just needs to leave this whole marijuana issue alone,"
said Virgil Pedersen, 72, a new medical marijuana card holder from
Victorville. "I got the card because regular drugs weren't doing a
thing for my back pain."

Card holders and dispensary owners across the state must wait at least
90 days before the court renders its decision on how much legal muscle
local governments can use against dispensaries. The court heard
arguments Tuesday.

Most local dispensary operators and clients would not comment on the
issue, but card holder Reggie Savelle said he is waiting for the
court's decision before trying to open a shop in Phelan.

"I don't want to dish out a bunch of cash on my business and then get
shut down," Savelle said. "I've heard too many horror stories about
code enforcement busts on legal places."

Proposition 215 gave patients the legal right to use medical marijuana
when it was passed by voters in 1996, but many municipalities and
counties have outlawed pot dispensaries with strict
regulations.

Nearly 30 marijuana dispensaries in the Victor Valley have closed over
the past three years, as aggressive efforts by local officials have
been successful in pushing businesses out of town. The city of
Hesperia, for example, has shut down 20 collectives since 2005.

"It's been a slow process, but we finally accomplished our goal,"
Hesperia Mayor Pro Tem Thurston "Smitty" Smith said, after the owners
of the High Desert Compassionate Collective were evicted in October.

Dispensaries in Hesperia were closed once the city began its code
enforcement process, which fined business owners and landlords $1,500
a day, Councilman Russ Blewett said.

"There is currently one dispensary operating illegally and we are
taking the necessary actions to close them down," said Adelanto City
Manager James Hart. "We had only one other dispensary and we closed
them down last year."

Hart said Adelanto does not allow dispensaries in the city under any
circumstance, because they are considered illegal.

Trojan Wellness owners Carrie Erskine and Sandy McKay are facing an
uncertain future after the town of Apple Valley began citing their
landlord $500 a day for allowing the dispensary to operate. After
opening in November, they are one of four dispensaries in Apple Valley.

Backed by its development code, Apple Valley is currently citing
property owners who are leasing storefronts to dispensaries, town
officials said.

Victorville is home to 11 dispensaries, according to Code Enforcement
Manager Jorge Duran. The city of Victorville does not issue business
licenses to collectives, and Duran said his team has shuttered four
collectives in the past two years.

"The city of Victorville has a ban against dispensaries, so we do not
issue business licenses for them, making them illegal businesses,"
City Manager Doug Robertson said. "We are pursuing them through code
enforcement and are looking forward to having a final resolution from
the California Supreme Court on the legality of dispensary bans in a
few months."

More than 175 cities and at least 20 counties have banned retail
marijuana shops, according to "Americans For Safe Access," an
organization that supports medical marijuana use, which said the ban
has rendered Proposition 215 meaningless.

In 2010, the California Court of Appeals invalidated a ban on
dispensaries in Los Angeles County. The court ruled that medical
marijuana dispensaries are protected under state law.

The League of California Cities advised its members not to take
aggressive actions on medical marijuana dispensaries until the Supreme
Court makes a ruling because legal fees could be wasted .
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D