Pubdate: Sun, 12 May 2013
Source: San Bernardino Sun (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.sbsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1417
Author: Andrew Edwards

DIAMOND BAR ALLOWS MARIJUANA PROVIDER TO STAY IN OPERATION

DIAMOND BAR -- Many California that have taken a stand on the medical 
marijuana question have given firm "no" answers to those wishing to 
operate cannabis dispensaries, but this suburb has been an exception.

Diamond Bar, in contrast to many of its neighbors, has an ordinance 
that allows a single medical marijuana dispensary to operate within 
city limits. That privileged position is currently occupied by a 
dispensary calling itself Farm Assist Caregivers, which did not make 
anyone available to comment for this article.

Diamond Bar's 2006 ordinance was adopted at a time when California's 
marijuana laws were less clear than they are today. Despite the 
federal prohibition of marijuana, California's Proposition 215 and 
S.B. 420 respectively allowed state residents to use marijuana for 
medicinal purposes and allowed those patients to obtain 
identification cards to distinguish themselves from recreational 
users who enjoyed marijuana outside of the bounds of state law.

The seeming contradiction between state and federal law led to some 
doubt as to whether cities had the power to forbid medical marijuana 
dispensaries from operating within their limits. That in turn led to 
a strange situation in which some cities, such as San Bernardino, had 
bans in place while dispensaries have operated openly so long as 
officials could not be sure their efforts to enforce those bans would 
ultimately be upheld in court.

The California Supreme Court ended much of that doubt Monday when 
justices handed down a unanimous opinion upholding cities' power to 
prohibit dispensaries. Justices determined that state law allows 
medical marijuana patients to escape punishment for using a 
controlled substances, but state laws do not go as far as to make 
marijuana 100 percent legal.

In light of the new ruling, Diamond Bar Mayor Jack Tanaka said it may 
be time to reconsider the city's law. Although he has not been 
informed of any problems around Farm Assist Caregivers, Tanaka said 
Diamond Bar adopted the ordinance at a time when he and other city 
officials were not certain they had the power to forbid dispensaries.

"When it first got started, I wasn't happy with it," Tanaka said last week.

In the immediate aftermath of the court's ruling, however, Tanaka 
said there is no movement to create a ban on dispensaries and said "I 
think it's relatively soon" to look at changing Diamond Bar's law.

Diamond Bar Councilwoman Carol Herrera, like Tanaka, also said there 
has yet to be any talk of instituting an outright ban of dispensaries 
in her city. She said her opinion may be different if city officials 
faced the challenge of controlling several dispensaries, but a single 
dispensary is something she can live with.

"So, far the ordinance has worked well and all is peaceful in the 
city," Herrera said.

Unlike Diamond Bar, inland cities that have banned dispensaries 
include Upland, Ontario, Redlands and Riverside. Inland Empire 
Patient Health & Wellness Center and its legal dispute with Riverside 
over its ban was at the center of the case leading to Monday's state 
Supreme Court opinion.

Besides Diamond Bar, California cities where officials have chosen to 
regulate dispensaries instead of banning them include Northern 
California liberal havens such as San Francisco, Oakland and Eureka, 
according to Americans for Safe Access, an organization in favor of 
medicinal cannabis.

Americans for Safe Access' list also includes Palm Springs, where the 
city code allows a maximum of three dispensaries, and the San 
Bernardino County desert town of Yucca Valley. Yucca Valley Town 
Clerk Jamie Anderson said, however, the policy of allowing a single 
dispensary to operate is scheduled to expire in August.

Americans for Safe Access spokesman Kris Hermes said there is less 
worry within the organization that cities that have chosen to allow 
dispensaries will switch to banning them as there is concern 
localities that have instituted temporary bans will move to make them 
permanent. The group supports legislation to establish statewide 
medical marijuana regulations and clarify marijuana collectives' 
immunity from prosecution.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom