Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2012
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Bob Egelko
Page: C2

COURT SIDES WITH BIG POT DISPENSARIES

print Big dispensaries can sell to members, court rules

Tackling a disputed issue in California's medical marijuana law, a
state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a nonprofit dispensary can
legally sell pot to members of its collective, even if they played no
role in growing it.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected arguments by the San
Diego County district attorney, and by Attorney General Kamala Harris'
office, that the law protects only small collectives in which most or
all members take part in producing marijuana for their own medical
use.

State law "permits retail dispensaries" and does not limit their size,
as long as they operate as not-for-profit collectives or cooperatives,
the San Diego court said in a 3-0 ruling.

That means a dispensary can sell marijuana to hundreds or thousands of
patients without violating state law. The ruling protects nonprofit
dispensary operators from prosecution for drug dealing, and could also
have implications for federal prosecutors' attempt to shut down
Harborside Health Center in Oakland, the nation's largest supplier of
medical marijuana.

In filing a forfeiture suit against Harborside in July, U.S. Attorney
Melinda Haag said its size, with 108,000 patients, made it more likely
that the dispensary was abusing California's law authorizing nonprofit
pot collectives. Federal prosecutors say they are targeting suppliers
that violate both state and federal drug laws.

The ruling "recognizes the right of dispensaries to exist and provide
medical marijuana to their patient members" and also contradicts the
government's claim against Harborside, said Joe Elford of the advocacy
group Americans for Safe Access, lawyer for the dispensary operator in
the San Diego case.

There was no comment from Harris' office, which could appeal to the
state Supreme Court. Steve Walker, spokesman for San Diego District
Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, said she continues to believe the law was not
intended to allow "largescale distribution of marijuana."

The case involved Jovan Jackson, charged with illegally selling
marijuana as operator of a San Diego dispensary called Answerdam
Alternative Care.

Jackson said he and five others grew marijuana and distributed it to
themselves and about 1,600 other members of their collective. A San
Diego judge ruled that Answerdam didn't qualify as a "collective"
under state law because most of its members simply paid for the pot
and didn't grow it.

Left without a legal defense, Jackson was convicted in September 2010
and sentenced to six months in jail, serving 48 days before being
freed during his appeal.

The appellate court granted him a new trial Wednesday and said
Answerdam's size may have a bearing on whether it is actually a
nonprofit - an issue the jury can consider at the retrial - but is
irrelevant to its status as a collective.
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