Pubdate: Tue, 24 Aug 2010
Source: Los Altos Town Crier (CA)
Copyright: 2010 The Town Crier Company Inc.
Contact:  http://www.losaltosonline.com/latc.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/245
Author: Cassandra Feliciano

MEDICAL MARIJUANA RIDES INTO LA ON QUESTIONABLE CONVEYANCES

Despite city bans on medical marijuana dispensaries, the pot market is
thriving in Silicon Valley. Ever-expanding collectives are literally
driving through loopholes, using delivery services to provide members
with their medicine - a phenomenon that has arrived in Los Altos.

Shade of Green Collective (SoGC), founded by seven medical cannabis
patients in their mid-20s, has 100 members - two from Los Altos. But
SoGC is just one of several independent delivery services based in
Santa Clara County that have declined to release information on their
clients.

Eight mobile cannabis businesses advertise with WeedMaps.com, a
commercial listing of dispensaries, and another 18 enlisted as members
of California NORML, a non-profit organization devoted to legalizing
marijuana. In addition, there are unlisted services that rely solely
on word-of-mouth advertising and brick-and-mortar stores that offer
delivery.

Of the latter, 20 percent of Buddy's Cannabis' 1,200-member collective
are locals, said owner Matt Lucero.

According to Los Altos police, however, such transactions violate city
code. Two ordinan-ces, passed Dec. 8 by a 4-0 Los Altos City Council
vote, prohibit the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries within
city limits. The regulation defines a dispensary as "any facility or
location, whether fixed or mobile" distributing medical cannabis to
eligible patients.

"If they're making deliveries in Los Altos, then that would be a
business transaction," Police Capt. Andy Galea said. "Someone with the
intent to come into Los Altos to deliver medical marijuana would
clearly be in violation of the city ordinance."

Galea said state laws - under the 1996 Compassionate Use Act
(Proposition 215) and the 2003 Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420)
- - prevent cities from prosecuting individual use of medical cannabis
but not distribution. Cities retain the authority to determine how
land is used.

While Galea said city regulations clearly restrict delivery services
as well as storefronts, many mobile dispensaries are not aware that
they're breaking the law.

"We wanted to do everything the right way," said Devin Baggett, a SoGC
founder. "So we were patient, we did our research (and) we waited for
other organizations to see how they fared in the industry."

Baggett said he had been interested in gathering a collective since
2004, but SoGC did not begin official plans for its symbolic April 20
opening until last year.

A majority of delivery services, whether independent or attached to a
stationary dispensary, follow the conservative route, double- and
triple-checking business operations to cover every gray area in state
and city laws.

Even Lucero, who gained notoriety for knowingly opening shop in
Sunnyvale in violation of city ordinances, adopted a more cautious
approach at his new location in San Jose, the third move in just four
months. Lucero verifies doctors' recommendations by calling both the
doctors' offices and the California Medical Board. Buddy's limits
purchases to 0.02 grams over a seven-day period.

Delivery-service owners are not the only ones confused. Medical
marijuana lawyers and city attorneys also find it difficult to give a
definite answer regarding the legality of these mobile pot shops.

Baggett said the lawyers they consulted could not agree, and Los Altos
City Attorney Jolie Houston said she wasn't certain if the ordinance
included delivery services based outside the city.

"We have not banned delivery services," Houston said of Los
Altos.

Independent delivery services may be short-lived, however, said Lauren
Vazquez, county representative for Americans for Safe Access, the
largest national membership of medical marijuana supporters.

"Deliveries are a compromise," Vazquez said. "It's not really what
patients want. It's harder to check out the collection, (and) you're
stuck with what they bring to your house."

She predicted that such medical marijuana sources would naturally take
a backseat to storefronts once they become legalized. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D