Pubdate: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA) Contact: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=A_OPINION05 Copyright: 2013 The Record Website: http://www.recordnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428 Author: Dana M. Nichols POT SHOPS FLOURISHING IN FOOTHILLS Dispensaries Spur Lode Economy, but Officials May Alter Ordinance SAN ANDREAS - Calaveras County now has four medical marijuana dispensaries, twice as many as Stockton, a city with more than six times as many residents. Part of the reason: Dispensaries here operate pretty much in the open, while the businesses are restricted or even banned in many nearby communities, such as Stockton. Calaveras County's medical marijuana ordinance allows the dispensaries, although only one of the four storefronts is in full compliance with all county zoning and permitting rules. After years of complaining about how they were losing retail dollars to big-box stores in neighboring counties, leaders here now actually have an industry that is luring customers from those same neighbors. But they aren't bragging about it. "Now they are coming to Calaveras to shop. I am not sure we want to be known for that, to tell you the truth," said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Merita Callaway. Callaway said that county leaders are looking in the next few months to revise the medical marijuana ordinance. One issue: The existing ordinance requires that dispensaries be in places zoned for professional offices, and there are relatively few such zones in the county. Most storefronts available to rent for businesses are in commercial zones. On Oct. 1, Calaveras County Counsel Janis Elliot sent a letter to the three non-compliant dispensaries warning them to come into compliance by Dec. 2 or face a "civil enforcement action." County leaders fear that dispensaries will continue to proliferate if they don't enforce the county code. Representatives of the dispensaries say that the enforcement action could shut down safe, legal places for patients to get medicine. "Maybe there's a political solution to this," said George Mull, an attorney who represents Calaveras Medical Collective, which opened this summer next to the Pizza Factory just off Highway 26 in Valley Springs. "I think the best thing for everybody is to avoid court and sit down and see if there's a compromise that can meet everybody's needs." Mull said that other than failing to find a spot to rent that is in a professional office zone, he believes his clients' dispensary is complying with state and local laws. Callaway said she has received no complaints about dispensaries such as the Little Trees Wellness Collective that opened this year in Arnold in her district. And though some of her constituents worry that medical marijuana businesses will in some way harm the community, she has other constituents who are customers. "I have had people that have totally surprised me say 'Merita, I do medical marijuana and I have a card.' These are your retired engineer, your retired banker." Medical marijuana business operators in Calaveras County confirm that their customer base is largely retirees facing serious health issues. "So far, all of our patients are going through chemo or some sort of problem they have. They are being recommended to us directly through their doctor," said Alex Gomez, who late this summer began operating his Land of Lakes delivery service in the Valley Springs and San Andreas areas. Gomez acknowledges that when he formerly operated a delivery service in Contra Costa County, some customers appeared to be recreational users even though they had obtained medical pot recommendations. In Calaveras, in contrast, he said he's been contacted only by customers with serious medical needs. Gomez said he and his partners had initially considered opening a storefront, which would have been Calaveras County's fifth. But with uncertainty over county regulation of storefronts and with strong demand for the delivery service, he said he's going to stick with delivery for now. Little Trees Wellness Collective in Arnold offers both delivery and a store location. And since opening early this summer, the business has grown to the point where owner Jeremy Carlson said he now employs three full-time workers and one part-timer. Carlson said many of his customers also spend money in restaurants and other stores in Arnold. "We have a pretty large portion of our clients that come up from Tuolumne County," Carlson said. Carlson acknowledged that his store site on Highway 4 in Arnold lacks the required zoning. But he said he's been proactively reaching out to government officials to show that he is otherwise complying with the rules. "We are working with the county. We didn't just open up and hope for the best," Carlson said. Callaway confirmed that she had met with Carlson. "The place was clean. Very nice. FedEx was even delivering to them," Callaway said. The managers for Forgotten Knowledge, a dispensary that has been operating in Valley Springs since 2010, did not respond to messages asking for comment. Forgotten Knowledge has been in violation of the county zoning code since it opened, county officials say. Gretchen Seagraves operates Blue Mountain Collective in San Andreas, which opened in 2011 and is the only dispensary that does have all required Calaveras County permits. The business is in a professional-office zoned site not far from the Department of Motor Vehicles office on Mountain Ranch Road. Seagraves said all the competition from new dispensaries and delivery services has cut into her business. She also said complying with county permit rules puts her at a disadvantage. Other medical pot outlets in the county, for example, sell edible forms of marijuana. She can't do that because of restrictions in her use permit. Seagraves' hope is that any reform of the medical pot ordinance will level the playing field. "I wish they all had to go through what I went through in order to open. If you don't get a business license, don't get a permit, it is not as hard," she said. In Stockton, meanwhile, at least two dispensaries appear to be operating despite a city ban. Stockton Medical Collective has an active Facebook page listing products and business hours for a store at 1580 Report Ave. A woman who answered the phone at the store Friday declined to give her name and claimed the business is only a small delivery service. Attorney Dorji Roberts of El Cerrito, who formerly represented Stockton Medical Collective, said Friday he'd heard the business had transitioned to a delivery-only service. "My understanding is that they did close," Roberts said. Mull confirmed that many of the same people sit on the boards of the nonprofit entities that operate Stockton Medical Collective and Calaveras Medical Collective. A second apparent Stockton medical pot shop at 1804 Country Club Blvd. operates under at least two names: Ten Times Agriculture Inc. and Stockton Specialties. That store is listed in online advertisements. No one responded to a message left on the store's phone. If Calaveras County does shut down Calaveras Medical Collective, then it will mean that Chris Shackleford, 21, of Valley Springs will have to drive farther to get the medicine he uses to treat insomnia, possibly out of county. "Most other dispensaries don't carry edibles," Shackleford said after a visit to the store. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom