Hemet city officials are keeping a close eye on a hydroponics store out of concern that it attracts customers who illegally grow marijuana. Steve's Hydroponics at 106 E. Florida Ave. opened Feb. 1. It sells indoor irrigation systems, growing lights and pesticides. Co-owner Steve McCann said his products are popular among growers of fruits and vegetables because the soil-less systems do a better job of delivering nutrients than outdoor gardens, and because the plants can be grown indoors -- away from extreme weather -- year-round. [continues 431 words]
The operator of an unlicensed medical-marijuana dispensary in Lake Elsinore vowed to keep his business open despite a decision by the City Council to uphold the revocation of his business license. "We're going to do everything we can to remain open," Carlos Stahl, operator of R Side Medical, said Wednesday. The Lake Elsinore City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to deny the appeal by Stahl to keep his business open. On Wednesday, Stahl said he believes he is operating within state medical marijuana laws. [continues 277 words]
The medical marijuana mobile that recently rolled out of Norco and into unincorporated Riverside County to sell its wares illustrates the latest in legal entanglements between federal, state and local laws. Stewart Hauptman said he and his 1985 Pace Arrow motor home are gone for good from Norco after police cited him for possessing drug paraphernalia and operating a dispensary. He has since moved to unincorporated Riverside County, where he says he feels safer because state law applies. But Hauptman and his roving pot-mobile may not be driving on any more solid legal ground. [continues 644 words]
As Riverside tries to shut one medical marijuana dispensary within city limits, another is seeking to open with the city's approval. But city officials said they don't intend to allow the Greenhouse Care Group, a collective of about 25 Riverside patients, to run a dispensary on the east side. The group has taken a unique tack. The city has said its zoning code forbids any marijuana dispensaries, so Greenhouse Care Group applied to change the code, said Katherine Clifton, a San Diego attorney representing the not-for-profit group. [continues 335 words]
Local law enforcement agencies, similar to many across the state, are treading a more careful path with medical marijuana users since an appellate court decision this year struck down a state law that set specific limits on the amount of marijuana patients can possess. This month, Murrieta code enforcement and police officers shut down what they described as an illegal medical marijuana dispensary and warehouse growing facility. They did not arrest the operator or seize any marijuana. Instead, they cited him for code enforcement violations. [continues 783 words]
A month after Wildomar shut down a storefront medical marijuana collective, the City Council on Wednesday heard testimony from medical marijuana advocates, a sheriff's deputy and a mental health expert. The meeting could be a step toward passage of a law regulating, and thus allowing, medical marijuana dispensaries in the young city. Wildomar currently bans dispensaries. It was unclear late Wednesday whether the council would ask for an ordinance to be drafted, the next step toward allowing marijuana facilities in the city. The discussion stretched well past 10 p.m. [continues 282 words]
The first thing people see when they step into a converted 1985 Pace Arrow motorhome in Norco is a glass display case filled with chocolate-covered cannabis cookies and medical marijuana labeled "blueberry" and "cheese." The collective has been on the road for seven months, but this month its operators were cited by Norco and Corona police for possessing drug paraphernalia and operating a dispensary, said Stewart Hauptman and his wife, Helen Cherry, who run the collective. The couple plans to contest the citations and challenge zoning laws in the two cities that ban dispensaries. [continues 377 words]
Regarding "Medical pot party planned" (Dec. 31), it would seem like Californians would finally get the point regarding the so-called medical use of marijuana. I am sure that marijuana actually helps some sick people but it should be controlled by the Food and Drug Administration and dispensed as any other prescription drug is dispensed. Unfortunately, California has become the laughingstock of most of the civilized world for its gullibility. The state has swallowed the deception that previous ballot measures were anything more than a step toward legalizing marijuana to give any pothead who stops by a "clinic" and gets a note from the local quack behind the counter access to the illicit drug. Raymond Hendrix Idyllwild [end]
Riverside medical marijuana clinic manager Lanny Swerdlow says he just wants to throw a private, alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration for patients. But to one Inland anti-drug group, Swerdlow's private party is a thinly disguised illegal drug bash, and the group has pressed that assertion by filing a complaint with the state attorney general. The party, which is only for medical marijuana patients, will be held tonight at the THCF Medical Clinic and Patient Center, where patients can seek a doctor's recommendation for marijuana but not obtain the drug. [continues 324 words]
LAKE ELSINORE - City Council members voted unamimously Tuesday to impose a 45-day moratorium on legal marijuana-growing operations in Lake Elsinore while officials decide how to regulate such activities. Council members said the time was needed to make sure a moratorium is properly implemented. "I think our staff needs the time to better digest this," Councilman Robert Magee said. The vote came after several speakers told the council that the use of marijuana has helped relieve pain caused by cancer and other ailments. [continues 178 words]
Three weeks after opening, the sole medical marijuana source in the city of Riverside has no shortage of customers. The Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center Medical Marijuana Collective, which opened Dec. 5 on North Main Street, requires a doctor's recommendation for marijuana and is open only to members. After starting with about 150 members, collective general manager William Sump said Friday, "We'll probably hit 500 today." Organizers describe the collective as a farmer's market in which vendors who grow the drug can sell it to other patients. The collective takes a small cut of the money to cover expenses. [continues 415 words]
The Lake Elsinore City Council will consider a proposal Tuesday to establish a 45-day moratorium on legal marijuana-growing activities in the city so it can determine how the operations can be regulated. The proposal is in response to a request for a business license and phone inquiries to the city about establishing operations to grow, dry, farm, package, process and distribute medical marijuana on a wholesale level, according to the staff report. Lake Elsinore's municipal code and general plan do not include discussions on marijuana manufacturing activities, how they are regulated or where they can be located. [continues 264 words]
Permanent: The Highland City Council is one of a growing number of governments to take the action. HIGHLAND -- The moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in Highland will become permanent next month. The City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to give final approval to an ordinance banning the dispensaries. There was no discussion. The decision came nine months after the council first imposed a moratorium on the dispensaries and three months before the moratorium was due to expire. The Highland City Council is one of a growing number of governments to ban dispensaries either permanently or temporarily. Among the others are San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Loma Linda, Beaumont and San Bernardino County. Earlier this month, the Calimesa City Council extended what had been a 45-day ban through Oct. 19, 2010. [continues 121 words]
Riverside's first medical marijuana collective, where patients with doctors' recommendations can buy the drug from patients who grow it, is set to open today, after months of preparations and delays. The Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center Medical Marijuana Collective is a nonprofit open only to members and not the general public, said William Sump, the collective's general manager. A debate still rages across California about whether local regulations to ban marijuana dispensaries should trump the state law that allows them. Riverside officials have said city zoning bans medical marijuana facilities of any kind. [continues 370 words]
As a person who has a son with a serious and debilitating disease, I am a strong supporter of allowing medical research on the benefits of cannabis. During his adult life, my son was hospitalized often in order to control his disease. About nine years ago, he tried marijuana. His doctor gave him a prescription for it. And he has been symptom-free ever since. It has not led him to harder drugs. Cannabis should be researched by the medical community so that it can be dispensed as a legal medical drug. It can be of help to many who suffer from various diseases. It does need controls and I do not support making it available to everyone. [continues 52 words]
In the letter "Pot destroys lives" (Your Views, Nov. 27), Betty Hemm states, "I have a relative whose life has been ruined with drugs and it started with pot. So many of his friends are now dead from drugs." While I sympathize with her, this is an example of marijuana being demonized due to false reasons. Marijuana is a gateway drug because it's illegal. Aside from medical venues, people don't have a legal avenue to obtain it so they go to the black market. Some dealers also offer more dangerous drugs. [continues 65 words]
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has a new policy guiding deputies on how to determine if someone's marijuana stash or plants are illegal or medically legit, sheriff's officials said. "It gives deputies a much clearer picture of when to seize and when not to seize," Chief Deputy Jerry Williams said. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department has no guidelines. In fact, only a handful of police and sheriff departments in California have created a policy for dealing with medical marijuana. It's become a murky issue since California voters allowed the medical use of marijuana with the passage of Prop. 215 in 1996. It remains illegal to possess marijuana under federal law, adding to the problems of law enforcement. [continues 781 words]
San Bernardino became the latest Inland city to ban medical marijuana dispensaries late Monday. City Council members voted unanimously, with Dennis Baxter and Rikke Van Johnson absent, in favor of a ban, Deputy City Clerk Linda Sutherland said. California voters decriminalized medical marijuana in 1996, but San Bernardino and San Diego counties filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision. The counties declined to issue permits until after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal earlier this year. [continues 142 words]
A moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries is likely to be adopted by the Calimesa City Council next month. The five-member council directed staff Monday night to draft a 45-day moratorium and bring it back for their vote on Oct. 5. The council could extend the moratorium up to two years, a staff report states. Council members say the moratorium will give the city time to research the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries. Mayor Jim Hyatt expressed interest in contacting Inland cities that allow dispensaries to see how it's working. [continues 185 words]
YUCAIPA - A temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in Yucaipa is now permanent. The Yucaipa City Council on Monday night adopted an ordinance that prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries. The vote was 3-0, with Councilmen Allan Drusys and Tom Masner absent. There was no discussion or public comment. The ordinance goes into effect in 30 days. The city established a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in May 2008. On Aug. 10, the council approved the first reading of the ordinance that permanently bans dispensaries. The vote was 3-1, with Drusys voting no. Councilwoman Denise Hoyt was absent. [continues 110 words]
The debate over marijuana could get hotter in the Inland region. As local governments throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties continue pondering how to regulate medical-marijuana dispensaries, groups of San Francisco Bay Area activists are seeking to legalize the drug for all uses in California. The move, supporters say, would save money in reduced law-enforcement costs and allow the state to tax marijuana and collect more than $1 billion in revenue. "Once folks become better informed about how marijuana affects people, about the truths, I think they will be less opposed to the idea," said Scott Bledsoe, of Crestline, who sued San Bernardino County for balking at issuing medical-marijuana identification cards. [continues 960 words]
Wanda Smith hopes to be among the first to receive a patient identification card when San Bernardino County begins implementing the state's medical marijuana program today. Two years ago a physician recommended the use of marijuana to Smith, who lives in the High Desert town of Phelan, to treat ailments that include diabetes and pancreatic and muscle conditions. The 59-year-old grandmother initially was treated with morphine but it made her vomit, she said. Marijuana helps relieve the pain and allows her to function, she said. [continues 698 words]
The Yucaipa City Council has approved the first reading of an ordinance that permanently bans medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The ordinance will return to the council Sept. 14 and, if adopted at that time, will take effect 30 days later. Monday night's vote was 3-1 in favor of the ordinance. Councilman Allan Drusys voted no. Councilwoman Denise Hoyt was absent. Drusys said this should be a matter between a physician and patient's pharmacist, and to take such a broad approach to medical marijuana was doing a disservice to patients. [continues 175 words]
Yucaipa city staff is recommending that the City Council turn a moratorium on the approval of medical marijuana dispensaries into an outright ban. If the council agrees when it meets Monday night, Yucaipa will follow in the path of other Inland cities that have issued bans or moratoriums on their approval. The Beaumont City Council banned medical marijuana dispensaries in April and one month later, set a 45-day moratorium on the approval of medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives. Staff told the council they needed time to research the issue. The council then agreed to extend the moratorium to one year in June. [continues 266 words]
A moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in San Bernardino County was extended by almost a year Tuesday to give county planners time to develop zoning and licensing rules. The Board of Supervisors, which approved a 45-day moratorium that expires Friday, extended the ban on retail outlets that sell medical marijuana to patients until June 19, 2010. Julie Rynerson Rock, the county's land use services director, said more time is needed to complete the county's review of other jurisdictions and introduce an ordinance regulating such facilities. [continues 153 words]
S.B. County: With the Ordinance Made Official, Applications to Receive Cards Are to Be Accepted in a Matter of Weeks. Next month, San Bernardino County will begin accepting applications from residents seeking medical marijuana cards. On Tuesday, county supervisors formally adopted an ordinance to distribute cards, which is expected to begin Aug. 14. The county plans to charge patients a $166 annual fee to cover the costs of running the program. Medi-Cal patients will pay $83. About 250 to 300 patients are expected to apply for cards, according to county estimates. [continues 424 words]
Even as San Bernardino County prepares to comply with state law and issue identification cards to medical marijuana patients in August, advocates say access to cannabis may remain difficult. The same day the Board of Supervisors approved the ID card program, the board also voted to enact a moratorium on the opening of dispensaries -- to allow time for county planners to draft land-use and permitting rules for the facilities. It's not yet clear what kind of restrictions the county will place on dispensaries or collectives. While the county's rules will apply only to unincorporated areas, many cities in both San Bernardino and Riverside counties already have banned dispensaries or enacted moratoriums. [continues 703 words]
San Bernardino County could begin providing identification cards to medical marijuana patients by August, but dispensaries will have to wait for guidelines before they can set up shop. The Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday to screen applicants and issue cards to patients. The program takes effect 30 days after the formal adoption of the ordinance, set for July 14. The board also approved a 45-day moratorium on the establishment of dispensaries -- retail outlets that sell medical marijuana -- to give county officials time to establish zoning and licensing rules. [continues 542 words]
San Bernardino County supervisors will consider approval today of a program to issue identification cards to medical marijuana patients. The county's public health department would charge Medi-Cal patients $83 and non-Medi-Cal patients $166 for the cards. Last month, the county announced that it would begin providing the cards after its legal challenge to the state program failed. The board also will consider placing a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries while the county's land use services department drafts rules for them. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave. in San Bernardino. [end]
San Bernardino County will begin providing identification cards to medical marijuana patients within 45 days, officials announced Tuesday. The Board of Supervisors agreed in closed session to begin implementing the state program, which sets standards for counties to review applications and distribute medical marijuana user cards, county spokesman David Wert said. The announcement comes a month after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the county's legal challenge of the state's medical marijuana program, effectively ending the battle by upholding lower court rulings. [continues 263 words]
San Bernardino County supervisors will meet in closed session this morning to again discuss whether to start issuing identification cards to medical marijuana patients. The supervisors have yet to say whether they will comply with state law. Their legal challenge ended unsuccessfully last month when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. The supervisors were briefed on the May 18 decision last week but made no announcement afterward. A majority of the supervisors say they believe the county will be issuing identification cards soon but must first tie up loose ends from the legal case. [continues 128 words]
San Bernardino County supervisors have yet to commit to providing identification cards to medical marijuana patients despite a U.S. Supreme Court action last month upholding state law. The Board of Supervisors discussed the May 18 ruling in closed session Tuesday morning but announced no decision. "There is currently no change in the county's position or practices on this issue," spokesman David Wert said. He said the matter would be on next week's closed-session agenda. After the meeting, however, two supervisors said the county will soon be in compliance with state laws on issuing medical marijuana identification cards. [continues 314 words]
San Bernardino County no longer has any reason to defy state rules on medical marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court this week ended the county's politically driven crusade against the law. And the justices scrapped any remaining justification for the county's stalling on medical marijuana. The county should start by issuing ID cards to patients with a valid claim to medical marijuana, just as other California counties have done. County officials may object to the idea of legal marijuana, but that fact does not spare the county from obeying the law. [continues 233 words]
Inland authorities are reformulating their enforcement policies for medical marijuana after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge of the state law filed by San Bernardino and San Diego counties. However, authorities and experts agree that the high court's move may have little or no effect on many criminal cases already pending or city bans on medical marijuana co-ops and dispensaries. On Monday, the Supreme Court announced it would not review the two counties' appeal after lower courts rejected their challenge of California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which permits medicinal marijuana use with a doctor's approval. [continues 470 words]
A day after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state's medical marijuana law, a San Bernardino County supervisor indicated Tuesday that she is ready to support the policy. The Board of Supervisors is not scheduled to discuss its next step until June 2, but Supervisor Josie Gonzales told about 40 medical marijuana advocates it would be a top priority. "I have long been a supporter of medical marijuana," she said. Gonzales said she had committed to "step forward" after the legal debate was resolved and that she hopes the county has reached that point now. [continues 259 words]
San Bernardino County residents previously unable to lawfully purchase marijuana for medicinal uses should soon be able to do so after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear challenges to the state's medical marijuana law. "The Supreme Court is the end of the road," said Allen Hopper, litigation director for the American Civil Liberties Union's Drug Law Reform Project. "There is no additional legal challenge left for the counties." San Bernardino and San Diego counties had sued in San Diego County Superior Court three years ago contending that federal drug law trumps California law, therefore making the possession of marijuana in this state -- for medical or any other use -- illegal. [continues 633 words]
The Beaumont City Council has decided medical marijuana dispensaries cannot be established locally. Two weeks after approving the first reading of the ordinance, the council formally adopted the municipal code addition Tuesday night. It will go into effect in 30 days. The vote was 4-1, with Councilwoman Nancy Gall casting the dissenting vote. Gall said two weeks ago that she has a problem prohibiting something that some Beaumont residents need. Councilman Roger Berg remained firm in his position that allowing dispensaries would be in violation of federal law. [continues 116 words]
Beaumont officials are taking steps to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The Beaumont City Council on Tuesday night approved the first reading of an ordinance that bans the establishment of dispensaries in the city. The ordinance will return to the council May 5 for a second reading. If approved again, it will become law 30 days later. The vote was 4-1. Councilwoman Nancy Gall cast the dissenting vote. "I have a problem prohibiting something that I know some of our residents need," she said. [continues 327 words]
It looks like any other doctor's office, with white walls, a receptionist's window and soothing background music. But then there's the marijuana cookbook in the corner case, and the "Medical Marijuana Survival Guide" handed out to patients. The Temecula branch of Alternative Care Clinics opened four months ago, part of a growing network of Inland businesses connecting patients with medical marijuana. "We used to get a lot more questions," said Jonathan Arbel, ACC's director of operations. "Now it's just more recognized as a legitimate treatment." [continues 705 words]
San Bernardino County Board Of Supervisors The supervisors voted in closed session Tuesday to rejoin San Diego County in a continuing challenge to the state's medical marijuana user program. San Bernardino County first joined San Diego County three years ago in challenging the program, which requires California counties to issue medical-marijuana identification cards to patients. The courts have so far ruled against them, upholding the medical marijuana act passed in 2003 to help regulate the law approved by California voters in 1996. At Tuesday's meeting, Undersheriff Richard Beemer said deputies are often caught between enforcing state law, which allows the use of medical marijuana, and federal law, which outlaws it. [end]
San Bernardino County is being accused of violating the Brown Act, California's open-meeting law, as it challenges the state's medical marijuana user program. San Bernardino County joined San Diego County three years ago in challenging the program, which requires it to issue medical-marijuana identification cards to patients. The counties petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case last week. The courts have so far ruled against them, upholding the medical marijuana law approved by voters in 1996. [continues 235 words]
SAN BERNARDINO - About 20 people from all points of San Bernardino County met in front of a San Bernardino courthouse Monday to cheer one of the last vestiges of the counterculture -- marijuana. They came to show support for medical marijuana activist Scott Bledsoe, of Crestline, who filed a lawsuit Monday against San Bernardino County for refusing to issue him a medical marijuana card. Named in the petition writ as respondent is Jim Lindley, director of the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. A petition writ such as this only seeks enforcement of a law. It does not ask for financial compensation. [continues 609 words]
Officials have dismantled more than 30 marijuana farms growing in the San Bernardino National Forest this year, but scientists say the effects on the forest's delicate ecosystem could last for years. Scientists who study forests say it can take years for an area formerly inhabited by a marijuana farm to return to its natural state, if it ever will. But agents don't have the time or money to remove all the debris connected with marijuana farms. Helicopters often are used to haul the marijuana and other items out of the forest because these areas are not easily accessible by trails. Story continues below Denese D. Stokes / U.S. Forest Service This debris-strewn scene was in the San Bernardino National Forest last year after a marijuana-growing operation was busted. [continues 714 words]
TEMECULA - Police seized dozens of marijuana plants and about five pounds of dried marijuana Friday from the Temecula home of a medical user well known in Riverside County for his activism on the issue. Martin J. Victor, 56, said Monday that he and his wife, both of whom suffer from debilitating health problems that prevent them from working, run a 10-member medicinal marijuana collective from their home. Victor was arrested Friday on suspicion of possession of concentrated cannabis, cultivation of more than 50 marijuana plants and possession of marijuana for sale, jail records show. He was booked into the Southwest Detention Center and released Saturday morning on $50,000 bail. [continues 361 words]
Guidelines recently issued by the state attorney general have had little effect on the Inland's regulation of medical marijuana. Last month, Attorney General Jerry Brown said licensed state cooperatives or less formal collectives are legal under California law. Operators of for-profit storefront dispensaries may be arrested and prosecuted, he said. Brown's opinion is nonbinding. He issued the guidelines as the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors decided it would continue efforts to overturn the state's 2003 Medical Marijuana Program Act, also known as Prop. 215. The state has issued a little more than 23,500 medical marijuana cards since 2004, according to the California Department of Public Health. [continues 558 words]
Roger Anderson's recent op-ed amounted to nothing more than an uneducated rant from someone who is unwilling to accept reality about medical marijuana ("Pot law: a scam," Sept. 3). My father has cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Fortunately, his physician recommended the use of legal medical marijuana because it is the only thing that works to reduce nausea and stimulate his appetite. My dad's story is close to my heart but not at all uncommon. Many oncologists recommend medical marijuana. Fortunately for my father and so many others, the medical community is smart enough to look past the lies of the movie "Reefer Madness," lies also propagated by people like Anderson. Caitlin Miller Hemet [end]
As a supporter of marijuana use, I would like to provide some feedback ("Pot law: a scam," Sept. 3). I do not believe marijuana does more harm to the body than good, and I believe there is scientific, if not empirical, evidence to prove this. I also do not believe that it does more harm than good to communities. A community's conduct is based on many factors. Prop. 215 helped to provide for the ill and created regulations at the same time. This op-ed was over the top. I believe marijuana is an escape for some and a scapegoat for others. Carlos Naranjo Jr. Corona [end]
I suffer from chronic lower back pain and am a medical cannabis patient ("Pot law: a scam," Sept. 3). And I don't like the idea that San Bernardino County wants to fight to overturn California's Medical Marijuana Program Act. For six years, I was taking a powerful painkiller. It almost killed me - -- thank you, Food and Drug Administration. Then I tried cannabis, and at least I could think and be creative and not act like a drunk, or so says my wife, who is a registered nurse. So please, foes of legal, medicinal marijuana, go shut down drugstores that peddle drugs to little old ladies in pain. Oh, and don't forget to shut down your liquor stores, too. Lawrence Gallegos Sr. Moreno Valley [end]
Abuse? Hardly; ID Cards Safeguard the Sick, Work As Intended The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition's representative, Roger Anderson, grossly distorts the truth about the state's compassionate medical-marijuana law and those who support it ("Pot law: a scam," Sept. 3). Anderson's organization claims to be concerned that California's medical-marijuana law is prone to abuse, but it applauds San Bernardino and San Diego counties for suing to overturn a portion of the law that is designed to limit any abuse. [continues 559 words]
California needs a thoughtful, thorough revision of its criminal justice system. Instead, voters in November will face Prop. 5, which would make already-muddled drug laws even more incoherent. Voters should reject that course. Prop. 5, The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, would expand programs to divert drug offenders to treatment instead of prison or jail. But the measure reaches far beyond drug programs, and voters should be skeptical about its ambitions. Does the state really need a new bureaucracy to oversee parole and rehabilitation efforts? Why should the Board of Parole Hearings have 29 members instead of 17? And why is a provision to ease penalties for marijuana possession buried in this initiative? [continues 422 words]
