Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2012
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/submitletters
Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Jason Hoppin

AFTER HIGH COURT PUNTS, POT REGS BACK ON TABLE: SUPREME COURT
DECISION VACATES CONTROVERSIAL RULING

SANTA CRUZ - The state Supreme Court backed off ruling on a closely
watched medical marijuana case Wednesday, saying the case was now moot.

The move could clear the way for lifting a county moratorium on new
pot clubs, after the case led the Santa Cruz County Board of
Supervisors to suspend local dispensary rules. That left local
providers in limbo amid a broad federal crackdown and a growing number
of California governments banning pot clubs altogether.

"It's terrific news," said Ben Rice, a local attorney who represents
several local dispensaries. "Everybody's real hopeful that the
county's going to engage all these folks again in regulating medical
marijuana in the county."

While the court declined to hear the much-anticipated case, the effect
is as good as a win for medical marijuana advocates. Under Supreme
Court rules, the disputed appeals court ruling no longer has legal
force.

The case began when the city of Long Beach passed regulatory rules
demanding a steep payment from operators for the chance to enter a
lottery allowing them to open their doors in city limits.

Dispensary operators sued, arguing that local governments had no
business regulating an area governed by federal drug laws, and a state
appeals panel agreed. But rather than simply toss the regulatory
scheme, the judges cited federal law and blocked any local
regulations, even going so far to suggest local officials could be
prosecuted for passing them.

The clubs' risky legal strategy had backfired, and they dropped it
after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, Pack v. City of Long
Beach. Long Beach also later joined scores of California cities in
lowering a total ban on dispensaries, making the case moot.

In the meantime, the ruling seemed to contribute to a trend of pot
club prohibitions that came despite broad public support for Prop 215,
the ground-breaking 1996 medical marijuana law that has since been
adapted to 16 states.

In California, 20 counties and at least 179 cities - including Los
Angeles, the second-largest city in the U.S. - now ban dispensaries,
according to the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access.

"A lot of cities used the Pack decision as cover to ban everything,
outright," said H. Allen Hopper, criminal justice and policy director
at the American Civil Liberties Union's Northern California chapter,
who filed a joint brief in the case on behalf of Santa Cruz County and
San Francisco.

County Counsel Dana McRae agreed that Pack decision is no longer valid
law. She expects to return to the Board of Supervisors with an update
on the case, which could include a discussion of the county's
moratorium on new dispensaries.

Passed in May 2011, the original county regulations were welcomed by
local operators, setting business operations standards and location
restrictions. Board of Supervisors Chair John Leopold, who helped
author the law, said it was too early to say what the county might do
next.

All eyes now turn to another potential Supreme Court ruling on a ban
on dispensaries in Riverside, in a case involving a collective called
the Inland Empire Patient's Health and Wellness Center. Advocates hope
to prohibit bans, citing Prop 215.

"We're back now to the same legal landscape that existed before the
Pack appellate court decision. Counties are free to regulate, and
whether or not they can completely ban is a very uncertain proposition
given the Supreme Court review pending in the Riverside case," Hopper
said.

Kris Hermes, a spokesman for American for Safe Access, agreed the
medical marijuana industry is watching the Riverside case. But he
added that he hoped the state Legislature would take up the matter as
well.

"We're not necessarily waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on this
issue. We're also hoping the Legislature will adopt sensible
regulations," Hermes said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt