Pubdate: Fri, 11 Dec 2009 Source: Siskiyou Daily News (Yreka, CA) Copyright: 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc. Contact: http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/668 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT CLAIMS POT COLLECTIVES ARE ILLEGAL Dunsmuir, Calif. - Members of the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department maintain that the medical marijuana collectives in Siskiyou County are operating illegally and they want these establishments to be investigated and shut down. Detective Darrel Lemos and Capt. John Villani of the Sheriff's Department attended a Dunsmuir City Council meeting on Nov. 10 to participate in the public hearing, which was scheduled to give community members a chance to voice opinions about an ordinance the city council is considering that would impose regulations on medical marijuana establishments. Lemos also attended the city council's meeting on Oct. 27 when council members voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance to impose a 45-day moratorium on the issuance of business licenses for marijuana dispensaries. At the public hearing, Lemos stated, "The law clearly states that you cannot sell marijuana. You cannot make a profit. It is not for people to group together to make a monetary gain." Lemos explained that medical marijuana establishments are by law supposed to be nonprofit organizations and that only a medical marijuana patient's primary caregiver is legally allowed to receive financial reimbursement for the exchange of marijuana. According to Section 2 of the Attorney General's "Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use," a primary caregiver is a person who is designated by the qualified patient and "has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health or safety" of a patient. According to Lemos, since dispensary owners do not fall under the primary caregiver category, it is unlawful for them to accept money from patients in exchange for marijuana. "To authorize or open this kind of business is a criminal activity. There is no way they can operate legally without violating the law," he said. A public hearing attendee asked Lemos if law enforcement officers plan to shut down the Siskiyou County medical marijuana collectives. "Yes," Lemos responded. "We're going to shut all of them down." Leslie Wilde, owner of the Green Collar Compassionate Collective in Dunsmuir, asked Lemos if he was referring to the federal law rather than the state law, which legalized medical marijuana use. Lemos responded that if he was referring to the federal law, "I'd be at your door with a search warrant." Capt. John Villani stood up to address the city council and community members. "Marijuana is a drug," he began, "and every drug has the potential of being abused." Villani said that the federal government is caught in a quandary and must determine how to go about maintaining public safety as marijuana dispensaries open up in communities. Lemos agreed about the community-safety aspect of dispensaries and said there is an increase of crime in communities where dispensaries open. "It's guaranteed there will be a homicide or a home invasion," he said. Villani stated that the sheriff's department will work with the county's district attorney's office. "We will investigate these dispensaries and we will bring them down," he said. "It's not an ‘if.' We're going to have to take enforcement action." During a telephone discussion with Sheriff Rick Riggins after the meeting, he said, "It is our opinion that the dispensaries are not running legally." Between the primary caregiver issue and the notion of profit, there are a lot of issues that need to be investigated, he remarked. He made a point of noting that it is not the department's intention to take medicinal cannabis resources away from sick people who truly benefit from it. But he said he has observed that doctors are writing recommendations for people whose conditions do not warrant it. Riggins stated that closing down the dispensaries "is not something that is going to happen right away" and that the sheriff's department will move forward with closing the establishments only if they are sure that the district attorney's office will be behind the sheriff department's efforts. "This is far from being over. This will be an ongoing issue," he said. District Attorney Kirk Andrus said that rather than lump all the marijuana dispensaries together as "illegal," his office would consider any cases coming to the DA's office on a case-by-case basis. Americans for Safe Access (ASA), headquartered in Oakland, is a national organization which promotes safe access to medical cannabis and provides legal support to patients and caregivers. Kris Hermes is the ASA public relations spokesperson. Hermes was asked by the Dunsmuir News to provide clarification on the patient and caregiver legal issue surrounding the sale of medical marijuana. Hermes responded, "There is a lot of controversy surrounding the sale issue." He explained that to operate in compliance with state law and be a valid cooperative or collective, the operator must be a (medical marijuana) patient or a primary caregiver. Hermes stated that the Medical Marijuana Program Act of 2003, also known as SB 420, allows for nonprofit collectives and cooperatives to operate storefronts and receive reimbursement for the sale of medical marijuana to qualifying patients. He said that although these organizations are classified as nonprofit organizations, they can accept financial reimbursement to pay employee wages and standard operating costs. "The law requires operators to obtain a seller's permit," Hermes said, and collectives must report and pay taxes on marijuana sales. Joe and Gina Munday successfully opened and are currently operating three medical marijuana dispensing collectives in the area. Although they were not present at the public hearing when Lemos and Villani made their statements, they were contacted by the newspaper after the meeting and asked to give their insight on the matter. "They're misled," Joe said about the sheriff's department representatives who made the statements. "If they try to shut me down I will sue the County of Siskiyou." "We have a mutual benefit, nonprofit organization," said Gina. She stated that she and her husband's collectives are licensed through the Board of Equalization and that they carry a legitimate business license. Gina commented that the way society is responding to the needs of medical marijuana patients is "appalling." "These patients have the right to obtain their medicine," she said, adding that the sheriff's department should focus on stopping real drug dealers who are causing harm to communities. "These are legitimate medical patients," Gina said about the collective members, and "the medicine is really, truly helpful. These patients don't cause any problems." Mount Shasta Police Chief Parish Cross was also contacted and asked if his department plans to shut down the medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Mount Shasta. He answered "No" and explained that the police department works under the direction of the city council. Since the city council approved for the dispensaries to operate in Mount Shasta, he said, "We are going to go with that." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D