Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 2009
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Page: Starts on the Front Page, lower right
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Times
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/bc7El3Yo
Website: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Paloma Esquivel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215

MARIJUANA DISPENSARY ELUDES O.C. RETIREES

Laguna Woods OKd the Idea, but So Far No Landlord Will Risk It.

It's just past noon in Laguna Woods, and retired Navy pilot David 
Masters, 71, has just wrapped up 18 holes on the golf course. The 
scene beyond him is something out of a postcard: bright green grass 
framed by blue sky and snow-capped mountains. Just around the corner, 
a group of retirees pokes gentle fun at one another while they lawn 
bowl. And in a nearby clubhouse, another social club gathers to chat, 
share drinks and eat coffeecake.

Such is the pace of life in Laguna Woods, where residents of Laguna 
Woods Village, one of the largest retirement communities in the 
country, make up about 90% of the city. Here, the average age is 78, 
residents drive golf carts to the grocery store and the lawn bowling 
greens, and bridge games and social clubs are the stuff of daily life.

So are illness and pain. Conversation frequently touches on a litany 
of ailments everyone seems to share -- diabetes, arthritis, glaucoma, 
cancer -- though dwelling on such matters is something of a taboo. 
More than anything, people here say they are trying to cope with the 
realities of aging and illness while remaining engaged in this new 
phase of life, one in which they refuse to accept that retirement 
means being closed up and isolated.

This is why, city officials say, they voted late last year to approve 
an ordinance permitting medical marijuana to be sold in town, the 
only city in Orange County to endorse cannabis dispensaries.

"The purpose isn't to be spaced out," said Mayor Bob Ring, 75, who 
moved to the Village 20 years ago after retiring from his job as an 
executive at an electronics manufacturer. "The purpose is to make it 
so that it's worth getting up each day."

Applicants must agree to serve only city residents and show that they 
have a willing landlord. That last part has proved difficult, said 
City Manager Leslie Keane.

While the dust-up over marijuana dispensaries in Laguna Woods is 
different because of the age of its residents, cities throughout 
California have wrestled with issues surrounding dispensaries for 
years. Although several have adopted ordinances like the one in 
Laguna Woods that regulate where, how and when dispensaries can 
operate, the decision by landlords to rent to such operations is 
increasingly precarious. In recent years, the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration has warned landlords that they risk arrest and loss of 
their properties if they continue renting to dispensaries.

When the Laguna Woods decision was reported in the local news media, 
the city didn't have to look hard for applicants: More than 100 
picked up applications at city offices and downloaded them from the 
city's website; but since then, not one has come back.

There are only a few shopping centers in the four square miles that 
make up this city, which is boxed between more youthful towns such as 
Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo. Some are disqualified from housing a 
dispensary because they are too close to schools or similar 
facilities. But at least one that is eligible -- home to a few fast 
food restaurants, a dry cleaner, a discount furniture store, a large 
storage facility and several empty storefronts -- has told the city 
it does not have room for this type of business.

"There were at least some applicants who had real estate brokers to 
assist them in finding a place," said Keane. "We heard from a number 
of people who have similar facilities in other places . . . I have 
been told they are not able to find any property owners who will 
lease them space."

All of which has gone over poorly with some residents.

"I don't want to turn any of these old folks into criminals, sneaking 
down to the high school to buy marijuana and getting busted by the 
police," said Stu Venable, 80. "They need it if it's prescribed by 
their doctor."

It is difficult to imagine such controversy in the place born as 
Leisure World, one of several similarly named retirement communities 
founded in the 1960s by developer Ross Cortese. For his time, Cortese 
had a radical idea: that retirement was a second chance at life, one 
that could be enhanced by social clubs and never-ending activity. His 
gated communities helped redefine retirement living in America.

More than 30 years later, the city of Laguna Woods -- which has only 
a few hundred residents outside the gates of the retirement community 
- -- was born, incorporated after residents' prolonged and ultimately 
successful battle against a new airport at the mothballed El Toro 
Marine base. It is one of the safest cities in the nation, officials 
say. On most days only one or two sheriff's deputies patrol, most 
often responding to calls about theft or burglary.

Today, the Village is home to nearly 18,000. Many are transplants 
from New York, New Jersey and Chicago; a significant number are 
Jewish retirees; two-thirds are female.

City residents seem comfortable forging a contrarian path in 
traditionally conservative Orange County. They are aggressive about 
healthcare, nutrition and fitness, and concerned about the 
environment -- in November, the city was one of the few in the county 
to support Barack Obama over his Republican rival.

In the last few years, a number of baby boomers have arrived who, 
officials say, are further modernizing the community. This newest 
group is not shy about asking for what it wants -- especially, more 
information about preventive healthcare, more modern facilities and a 
wider variety of activities. There is even talk of replacing a 
shuffleboard court with a bigger gym.

"Considering the age group here, it's more progressive than I ever 
expected," said Marty Rhodes, 77, who was elected to the City Council 
last year.

When the topic of medical marijuana comes up, most seem to take a 
practical attitude in favor of those who think it might help relieve 
their pain.

"For heaven's sake, talk about a victimless crime," said Gail 
McNulty, 70, who lives in the Village.

"People who have terminal conditions need to have all the help they 
can get," said Jim Barton, 69.

When it was up for discussion last year, dozens of residents showed 
up at City Hall to support the ordinance.

"The testimony that we heard was overwhelmingly that this was a 
quality-of-life issue," said Ring, the mayor. "This was the only way 
they could live with some quality of life. No other medication seemed 
to alleviate the pain."

That's not to say there are no naysayers.

Erwin Stuller, 82, a retired federal administrative law judge, said 
he is concerned that city leaders "voted for something that 
contradicts federal law." On top of that, he said, "I don't see the 
practical use of it. There are thousands of medical drugs on the 
market that reduce pain."

Sitting on a patio overlooking the golf course, wearing aviator 
sunglasses and a cap emblazoned with an American flag, Masters took 
stock of the debate.

"Drugs are insidious," the retired pilot said. "People start with 
marijuana, and next thing you know they're sampling cocaine or 
heroin. It just escalates until your life is ruined."

Whether or not the city's ordinance makes any difference in the 
legality of medical marijuana dispensaries is not clear.

Ever since California voters legalized marijuana's use for seriously 
ill people with the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, several 
cities, including Malibu and Whittier, have adopted ordinances 
similar to the one in Laguna Woods, to provide access to prescribed 
marijuana while imposing regulations on dispensaries.

Even so, the U.S. Supreme Court has reaffirmed the right of the 
federal government to prosecute patients and suppliers in the state, 
and federal agents have raided dispensaries and prosecuted operators 
across California.

Supporters of medical marijuana say the DEA has threatened in several 
cases to take legal action against dispensary landlords.

As in most matters, Laguna Woods officials and residents seem 
practical about the reality that a dispensary might never open in 
their community. But at least a few respect their city for trying.

"All around us are cities that banned" medical marijuana, said 
McNulty, who has lived in the Village for 10 years, "but we went a 
different way. I was very proud of their decision." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake