Pubdate: Sat, 13 Oct 2012
Source: Daily Press (Victorville, CA)
Copyright: 2012 Freedom Communications, Inc.
Contact: http://www.vvdailypress.com/sections/contactus/
Website: http://www.vvdailypress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1061
Author: Rene De La Cruz

NO EASY ANSWER FOR TOWN'S MARIJUANA PROBLEM

APPLE VALLEY * After prescription pain medication did not bring relief
to her 64-year-old mother, Sandy McKay decided it was time for her mom
to try another method: cannabis.

"She took a bad fall while she was a bus driver, and she was in a lot
of pain from multiple surgeries," McKay said. "Conventional pain
medication just wasn't effective."

Inspired to help others, McKay and her friend, Carrie Erskine, opened
Trojan Wellness in November, a medical marijuana dispensary located in
the Village of Apple Valley.

McKay, whose dispensary serves approximately 25 people a day, said
many of her clients are seniors and women who are suffering from a
variety of illnesses.

"The face of marijuana use is changing," McKay said. "We have people
from all walks of life using cannabis to get relief."

But McKay's business, one of four dispensaries in town, is facing an
uncertain future after the town began citing McKay's landlord $500 a
day for allowing the dispensary to operate.

The town, backed by its development code, is currently citing property
owners that are leasing storefronts to dispensaries, town officials
said.

But according to McKay, the citations ceased once her landlord filed
suit against the town.

The town could not comment on the lawsuit, since they had not received
documents associated with the lawsuit. And McKay's landlord did not
return a request for comment.

Since the dispensary issue is still not fully resolved between the
state and its municipalities, McKay wants to work with the town to
find a local solution.

"The town may have an ordinance that bans the collective, but they
have nothing that regulates existing collectives," said McKay, who
asked the Town Council to partner with her business to craft a
dispensary ordinance during Tuesday's meeting.

McKay received a letter from the town addressing property owners who
leased or were considering leasing to marijuana dispensaries.

The two-page letter cites the United States Controlled Substance Act,
which forbids the leasing of property for distribution of controlled
substance "regardless of whether it is for medical purposes." The act
states that a landlord who breaks the law can be sentenced up to 20
years in prison and pay up to $500,000 in fines - or both, if
prosecuted criminally.

The letter also included a portion of a letter from U.S. Attorney
Andre Birotte Jr. to the Lake Forest city attorney, which stated that
businesses that cultivate, sell or distribute marijuana, and those
that facilitate such activities are in violation of the act,
"regardless of state law."

"I'm in favor of discussing ideas and remedies with our citizen and
business owners," Mayor Barb Stanton said by phone. "Is there a
remedy? I don't have the answer."

Erskine and McKay are trying to break the preconceived notion that
marijuana collectives are run by back-alley drug dealers who sell to
shady characters.

"We're just normal people trying to help those that are suffering,"
McKay said. "Many people have commented that they feel comfortable in
our store."

Collectives may serve clients who are 18 and over, but to avoid
underage usage, McKay's collective serves individuals ages 21 and over.

"We are too close to the school, and federal law says that anyone who
serves an individual under 21 can get into major trouble," McKay said.
"There are some great collectives and some that cross the line."

McKay's dispensary receives cannabis from doctor-referred patients who
grow and harvest the plant before the collective tests the product for
flavor, purity and its affect on the user.

"We're the guinea pigs of everything that goes on the shelf," McKay
said. "We also try to limit the vendors that we get product from. We
like to deal with people that we have a relationship with."

The state's 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that municipalities
cannot ban medical marijuana dispensaries for being nuisances in
February, after Lake Forest tried to kick a collective out of town.
But the decision contradicted other rulings, including one from the
4th District Court of Appeal that upheld Riverside's ability to ban
dispensaries in that city.

The matter isn't likely to be decided until the state Supreme Court
takes up one or more of the cases, which may happen in 2013. And even
then, any decisions may to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Hopefully this will get settled soon," McKay said. "In the meantime,
we're going to help people."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt