Pubdate: Mon, 19 Dec 2005
Source: Whittier Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.whittierdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/497
Author: Mike Sprague, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

WHITTIER POT CLUB KEEPS LOW PROFILE

WHITTIER - There is little to tell people where they  are. There is no
fancy logo on the front, just a  handwritten paper sign taped to the
door.

No one from the city even knew the place existed until  this week,
when the City Council voted to approve an  ordinance allowing medical
marijuana dispensaries to  open in Whittier while restricting them to
industrial  areas of the city.

As council members debated the new law, members of the  Whittier
Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary  operating inside a
nondescript office in the  Washington-Whittier Medical Center,
testified at  Tuesday's hearing.

The Whittier Collective is a group of about 100 medical  marijuana
users, according to its spokesman, who called  himself John and
refused to provide his full name,  saying he fears federal
prosecution.

In a telephone interview, John said the group picked  its location
precisely because it is a medical  building.

"It should be in a medical facility," he said. "It  shouldn't be put
in an industrial area like out in a  back alley. People feel more
comfortable going to a  medical facility."

But the office space would not be legal under the  city's proposed
ordinance, which will not become law  until the council comes back
Jan. 10 to approve the  second reading of the ordinance.

However, even if the ordinance is approved, the  collective could stay
where it is - at least until the  city's lawyers clear up the details.

Council members instructed City Attorney Dick Jones to  return with a
recommendation for how long the  collective can legally stay at its
present location.

The situation is exactly why an ordinance governing  where medical
marijuana dispensaries can open is  needed, said Mayor Greg Nordbak,
who was one of three  council members to vote in favor of the
ordinance.

"We can control them with location, rules and  guidelines," Nordbak
said. "They are legal in the state  right now."

Medical marijuana dispensaries have been legal under  state law since
1996, when California voters passed  Proposition 215, which allows
marijuana to be used for  medicinal purposes. However, under federal
law,  marijuana is illegal to possess and use.

The Whittier Collective started because many patients  want to get
their medical marijuana closer to home,  John said. It is not a
business but more like a co-op  of people who get together and provide
the marijuana.

The marijuana comes from patients who grow it.  Proposition 215 allows
patients with marijuana  prescriptions from doctors to grow up to 12
plants.

The club provides about 20 different strands, as well  as various
baked goods, including marijuana-laced  brownies, cookies, candies and
chocolates, he said.

A patient going to the clinic must have a presciption,  John
said.

"Security checks them and verifies their scrip," he  said. "We don't
just look at the letter. We actually  call the doctor's office. If we
can't get hold of the  doctor, they can't come in."

Patients pick out the marijuana they want and then make  a donation,
typically about $50, he said, which pays  for the lease and expenses.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake