Pubdate: Sat, 22 Oct 2011
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2011 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Author: Katy Sweeny

PROSECUTION THREAT TO LANDLORD WEEDS OUT BUTTE COUNTY MEDICAL
MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

CHICO -- Former dispensary employees shook their heads Friday when
patients came in asking where they could get their medical marijuana.

North Valley Holistic Health, the only dispensary operating in Butte
County, stopped dispensing the drug Wednesday, said Andrew Merkel,
vice president of the nonprofit.

The dispensary that once housed a wall full of bud-filled jars,
display cases of marijuana edibles and a shelf of clones for patients
to grow their own was left Friday with a few mother plants, soon to be
destroyed or given away.

The operators plan to keep their doors open without distributing or
cultivating, Merkel said.

"We're keeping our establishment," Merkel said. "But we're not
dispensing medicine until the federal government or the state chills
out."

Their landlord received a letter Oct. 7 from the U.S. Attorney's
Office representing the northeastern district of California warning
him he could be imprisoned, fined or required to forfeit the property.

"It is not a defense to claim the property is providing so-called
'medical marijuana,' " the letter reads. "Congress has determined that
marijuana is a dangerous drug, and that the manufacture and
distribution of marijuana are serious crimes. The Department of
Justice remains firmly committed to enforcing the Controlled
Substances Act in all states.

"Accordingly, we will vigorously enforce the prohibitions against
cultivation and distribution of marijuana, even if such activities are
permitted by state law. Those who allow their property to be used for
such activities do so at their peril."

Robert Galia is CEO of the dispensary that has been open since Nov. 1,
2009.

"Just because a few dispensaries are operating outside the law, it's
not fair and it doesn't make sense to close them all," Galia said.

Their landlord is not kicking them out, but the operators came to the
decision to stop dispensing and cultivating "for a while." They were
using it as an opportunity Friday to clean.

"We don't want to subject our employees to federal prosecution," Galia
said. "It wouldn't surprise me if they went after stock boys and the
guy who waters the plants."

The dispensary paid all 15 employees before laying them off, and its
taxes and rent for at least six months, Merkel said. The employees
have been told to file for unemployment.

About a week ago, workers asked growers to stop bringing in their
product. The dispensary gave away the rest of the medical marijuana to
patients, Merkel said.

An indoor grow room that had housed more than 40 plants was almost
bare, as plant tender Joel Diaz cut mother plants Friday and threw
them into the garbage.

The dispensary is also facing restrictions and action from the Butte
County government.

A ban on medical marijuana dispensaries within the unincorporated area
of the county that was enacted temporarily in 2010 will go before the
Butte County Supervisors Tuesday for permanent adoption.

Merkel is also the president of Citizens for Compassionate Use Butte
County, which is having a fundraiser today to campaign against the
county's residential-grow ordinance Merkel considers restrictive.
People can learn more about the event and group at
www.ccubuttecounty.com.

"The whole dispensary thing, if it gets crushed everybody is going to
want to grow at home," Merkel said.

Not only do the dispensary operators think illegal marijuana
operations will grow, but the government will have less money to combat it.

Merkel said last month, the dispensary paid $25,000 in sales
tax.

Galia thinks some patients are afraid to grow because they think
"punks will steal it," he said.

"They made the growing problem worse because patients got no choice,"
Galia said.

Former dispensary worker Teddy Aanestad thinks seriously ill patients
do not have the ability to grow for themselves, he said.

"It's a weed so it's going to grow," Aanestad said. "But it's very
hard to grow safely."

Pesticides, spider mites and mold are some of the concerns, along with
the expense of lights, fans, soil and nutrients, he said.

"You're not going to have good medicine come out of it, especially
your first time," he said.

He thinks patients won't likely be able to get the marijuana creams,
oils and drops that ease pain, he said.

Aanestad said Friday he plans to file for unemployment.

As soon as patients see the open doors and no marijuana, they are
disappointed, he said.

"The more complex someone's disease, the more sick the patient was,
the more upset they were," Aanestad said.

Galia thinks the dispensary allows patients to try different varieties
to find one that eases their symptoms, he said.

"The main thing is they're not criminals," Galia said. "It gives
everybody legal standing. They're criminals if they get it off the
street."

Merkel thinks some patients will go to illegal drug dealers who don't
pay taxes, he said.

He said he still has access to his medicine.
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