Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2007
Source: Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Tribune
Contact:  http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/391
Author: Stephen Curran
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

PANEL DISLIKES POT SHOP PLAN FOR TEMPLETON

In a bitter exchange, the property owner who proposed a medical 
marijuana dispensary accuses the Templeton Area Advisory Group of lying

Discussion grew heated Thursday night as the Templeton Area Advisory 
Group voted to urge county officials to turn down a plan for a 
medical marijuana dispensary in an industrial area at the north side of town.

Property owner Kent Connella accused group members -- who voted 5-2 
against his plan -- of intentionally shutting him out of debate over 
whether the panel should recommend that county planners approve or 
deny his proposal.

Calling them "liars," Connella said he never received telephone 
messages that reportedly were left for him by advisory group members.

"I will help the sick and dying, and I will go out on a limb for 
that," Connella said, noting that the advisory group has no official 
say in the matter.

The advisory group makes nonbinding suggestions to county officials 
on planningrelated issues in the Templeton area. County planners and 
the Board of Supervisors do not have to act according to advisory 
group recommendations.

Connella -- who protested last month as federal agents and sheriff's 
deputies raided a Morro Bay dispensary-- said such facilities provide 
muchneeded medicine to patients and are protected under California's 
voter-approved Compassionate Use Act.

He did not step forward when advisory group members asked if he was 
in the audience. He later interrupted the discussion and identified 
himself after a sheriff's deputy and a Paso Robles police officer 
spoke against an application for a permit for a dispensary at 3850 
Ramada Drive.

Community leaders, including Templeton schools Superintendent Deborah 
Bowers, have argued that Connella's plan for a 1,450-square-foot 
cannabis co-op is a poor fit for the conservative town and that it 
would undermine the school district's anti-drug efforts.

The group's recommendation will be forwarded to county Planning and 
Building Department staff, which will determine whether Connella's 
proposal meets a set of guidelines created to monitor medical 
marijuana dispensaries.

Three patients who say they rely on the substance to treat a variety 
of ailments argued in favor of the facility.

"People have the idea that people who go to these clubs are low-life 
stoners," said Jane Garrison, a Templeton resident who said she uses 
medical marijuana to treat severe migraines. "I've tried it, and it 
works for me."

Thursday's meeting was the latest in a statewide debate over medical marijuana.

Dispensaries such as the one proposed by Connella have operated in a 
legal gray area since California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.

The federal government has argued that national prohibitions 
outlawing all marijuana use trump exceptions passed at the state level.

Some local leaders, meanwhile, have remained leery of such businesses.

The county Board of Supervisors in February voted over the objection 
of Supervisor Harry Ovitt, the Templeton Unified School District and 
Templeton Chamber of Commerce to allow medical marijuana dispensaries 
in some unincorporated inland areas. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake