Pubdate: Fri, 03 Aug 2012
Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Copyright: 2012 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/letters_form.html
Website: http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
Authors: Darrell R. Santschi And Richard Deatley

COURT RULES COUNTY CAN'T TARGET POT DISPENSARIES

In yet another twist in the tangle of conflicting court decisions over
California's medical marijuana laws, a judge ruled Friday, Aug. 3 that
Riverside County's ban on medical marijuana clinics cannot be enforced
in the county's unincorporated areas.

Attorneys and advocates for the 21 dispensaries represented in the
lawsuit hailed the ruling by Riverside County Superior Court Judge
Ronald L. Taylor. Attorneys for the county said it was a "surprising
and unusual decision" that would certainly be appealed.

An attorney for dispensaries said the judge came down in favor of
their arguments -- that local governments' health and safety
regulations cannot conflict with state laws permitting medical
marijuana storefronts.

"When they impose a total ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, that
does not agree with the state constitution," said attorney James De
Aguilera, who represented the storefronts during a morning hearing
before Taylor.

Until the California Supreme Court rules on several medical marijuana
cases before it, "what the judge ruled today is going to be the law in
Riverside County," De Aguilera said.

Taylor ruled that state law allows marijuana dispensaries -- and also
shields them from local nuisance ordinances.

Attorneys for the county said it opened the doors for
storefronts.

"This court decision gives a green light for pot dispensaries in
unlimited numbers to operate anywhere and everywhere in unincorporated
areas of the County of Riverside," said Jeffrey V. Dunn, an attorney
with Best Best & Krieger, representing Riverside County. "That's a
nightmare scenario and an unacceptable risk and danger to public safety."

Patti F. Smith, a deputy county counsel, said the county would
continue to look at all legal options to close the dispensaries, in
light of the judge's decision. She said Taylor's ruling does not end
the case. While there were 21 dispensaries named in the suit, only
about 12 will actually be protected by Friday's ruling, she said.

"There's a lot of options available," Smith said. "These businesses
cannot show that they are legal under state law, and we know they are
banned under our local ordinances. Not one of the dispensaries has
shown they are legal under state law."

Smith did not disclose what the options are, but local governments in
the past 15 months have partnered with the federal government to take
civil action against landlords of buildings that house
dispensaries.

Landlords typically get notices that marijuana is an illegal drug
under federal law, and their property could face forfeiture
proceedings for housing a dispensary.

Like many attorneys who oppose the storefronts, Dunn and Smith both
advocate that there is actually nothing in either the state's 1996
Compassionate Use Act (Prop. 215) or the state Legislature's Medical
Marijuana Program that allows for dispensaries.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone said the judge made an
ill-advised decision that will be appealed.

He also cited marijuana's illegality under federal law. Stone, a
pharmacist, said if he sold medical marijuana, the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration would shut him down within 24 hours.

The same standards, he said, should apply to dispensaries.

Taylor's ruling on the 21 dispensaries disagrees with a decision by
another Riverside County judge made less than a month earlier that
upheld the county's ban, but on a different group of
dispensaries.

Judge John Vineyard said in his case that dispensaries needed to prove
they were operating legally; Taylor on Friday turned aside that argument.

It also came during a window of opportunity for dispensary
advocates.

State appellate courts have been issuing published opinions back and
forth that either uphold or deny local governments banning medical
marijuana dispensaries.

One issued last year by the Fourth District Court of Appeal division
based in Riverside upheld bans; a later one from a different court
overruled bans. Both have since been vacated as the California Supreme
Court considers them.

But in the roulette wheel of the latest published opinion on the
matter, a Los Angeles-based appellate court said local governments
could not ban the dispensaries.

It was issued in early July and is months away from possibly being
vacated by the Supreme Court. That made it a ruling that could be
cited statewide on Friday, when Taylor made his decision.

De Aguilera said Taylor's decision Friday was "pretty big, but it is
consistent with the victories we have been winning lately."

More than 225 cities and counties are estimated to have instituted
bans of medical marijuana clinics, according to the Coaltion for A
Drug Free California, which opposes them.

Paul Chabot of the coalition said one thing he and dispensary
advocates agree on is the need for settled law on the matter.

"We really want a firm decision," he said. "We just need this to end
one way or the other."
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