Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jan 2013
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Author: Craig Gustafson

FILNER: STOP POT SHOP CRACKDOWN

Mayor sends memo to city attorney, police chief ordering no further 
code enforcement, prosecution

SAN DIEGO - Mayor Bob Filner ordered a halt Thursday to the 
prosecution of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, using his 
power as strong mayor to direct police and code compliance officers 
to stop targeting the pot shops.

The decision came two days after Filner spoke before the San Diego 
chapter of Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group for medical 
marijuana. Filner criticized law enforcement's crackdown on 
dispensaries and identified City Attorney Jan Goldsmith as an 
official that "has not been, what shall I say, very helpful." He 
promised the group he would talk to the police chief, noting he could 
hire or fire him, and intimidate Goldsmith into backing off.

Goldsmith responded Wednesday with a letter to Filner that "you could 
have achieved your goal in less than 30 seconds." The mayor has sole 
authority over civil actions against dispensaries because they 
involved code-enforcement violations, which are under his purview, 
the city attorney explained.

Armed with that legal advice, Filner sent memos titled "Stop the 
Crackdown on Marijuana Dispensaries" to Police Chief William 
Lansdowne and Development Services Director Kelly Broughton, who 
oversees neighborhood code compliance, on Thursday. He told them to 
stop code enforcement against marijuana dispensaries and to stop 
forwarding such cases to the City Attorney's Office for prosecution.

The mayor's decision only blunts one law enforcement tactic to shut 
them down. He has no authority over the District Attorney's Office 
and the U.S. Attorney's Office, which can still proceed with prosecutions.

In a statement, Filner said he asked for the temporary halt of city 
prosecutions to be in place until the city has a set of regulations 
in place for distribution of the drug.

"As I made very clear during my campaign for mayor, I support the use 
of marijuana for medicinal purposes and am committed to ensuring the 
people who legitimately need it for relief of pain are not kept from 
accessing it," he said. "I also want to assure the residents of San 
Diego that there will be the utmost safeguards surrounding these 
dispensaries. They will not be near schools, playgrounds or any areas 
where children might gather. Nor will they be allowed to infringe on 
the quality of life in any neighborhood."

Filner has promised to work with medical marijuana advocates to 
create an ordinance in the next few weeks to allow regulated 
dispensaries and has offered to testify for shop owners in court.

Goldsmith said he would drop a dozen pending cases against 
dispensaries as a result of the mayor's directive. About 100 cases 
have already resulted in shops being shuttered and Filner's decision 
won't reverse those outcomes. What it means for shops that attempt to 
open now remains to be seen.

Federal prosecutors have issued warnings that marijuana sales and 
distribution is illegal under federal law and property owners face 
criminal prosecution and potential loss of their property if the 
outlets do not close.

Goldsmith said he began prosecuting dispensaries in 2011 at the 
behest of the police and code enforcement officials, who provide the 
evidence. Some neighborhood activists had complained about the 
unregulated proliferation of pot stores, contending they often led to 
crime and the recreational use of the drug.

Goldsmith said Filner's directive means the city won't cooperate with 
state or federal prosecutors on dispensary cases as it has in the past.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said she was out of town 
Thursday and unavailable for comment. Chief Lansdowne had yet to 
receive the cease-and-desist letter from Filner and therefore 
couldn't comment, a spokeswoman said.

More than 200 medical marijuana collectives have been closed in San 
Diego and Imperial counties since Duffy and her colleagues announced 
in 2011 sweeping enforcement actions aimed at distributors in 
California. Some closures were attributed to settlements with the 
City Attorney's Office - before and after medical marijuana activists 
in the city failed to qualify a regulate-and-tax initiative for the 
November ballot.

The legal limbo for dispensaries dates to 1996 when state voters 
approved an initiative to allow people with recommendations from 
state-licensed physicians to possess and cultivate marijuana for 
personal use. The ballot measure did not affect the federal law 
making marijuana illegal.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom