Pubdate: Wed, 02 Dec 2009
Source: Visalia Times-Delta, The (CA)
Copyright: 2009 The Visalia Times-Delta
Contact: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2759
Author: Valerie Gibbons
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OK RULES FOR MEDICAL-MARIJUANA
DISTRIBUTORS

County officials moved one step closer Tuesday to  closing some of the
county's larger medical-marijuana  organizations.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors gave final  approval to an
ordinance limiting the number of clients  seen by marijuana-distribution
organizations as well as  capping at 99 the number of plants they may
possess.

The new rules are aimed at shutting down large  operations with
hundreds of plants and customer lists  that hover in the thousands.

"I think this is a good effort," Supervisor Pete Vander  Poel said. "I
think this is good for the county."

The move comes after an emotional -- and sometimes  angry -- public
hearing last month. More than 40  medical-marijuana supporters came
out to defend the  state law that allows distribution of the plant to
those with a doctor's prescription.

This week, however, neither medical marijuana's  supporters nor
critics said anything during the  meeting.

Currently, there are five medical-marijuana facilities  in the
county's unincorporated areas -- in Goshen,  Ivanhoe, Tipton and near
Exeter and Porterville. Some  of those facilities claim patient lists
of more than  1,000.

But county officials are moving to limit the number of  facilities in
the unincorporated areas to three, which  would close two of them.

The new ordinance will limit the allowed facilities to  "collectives,"
which serve a small number of patients  and do not operate for profit.

The larger dispensaries, sheriff's officials say, are  illegal under
both state and federal law.

The sheriff's department plans to have each of the  facilities
inspected by the time the ordinance goes  into effect Dec. 10. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D