Pubdate: Sat, 19 Jan 2013
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2013 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

COURT UPHOLDS RULING ON POT DISPENSARIES

The state Supreme Court has denied prosecutors' request to review a
ruling to allow large nonprofit dispensaries to sell medical
marijuana, a case that could affect the federal government's attempt
to shut down the giant Harborside dispensary in Oakland.

Harborside Health Center is the nation's largest medical marijuana
supplier, with 108,000 patients. Local and state authorities have not
objected to its operations, but U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag sued in
July to seize its property in Oakland and a smaller site in San Jose.

Invoking the Obama administration's policy of targeting dispensaries
that violated state as well as federal drug laws, Haag said the larger
the dispensary, "the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse
of the state's medical marijuana law."

But a lawyer for Harborside said the state court's latest action in a
Southern California case contradicts Haag's position.

The case involved Jovan Jackson, operator of a San Diego dispensary
called Answerdam Alternative Care, which is organized as a collective
and distributes marijuana to 1,600 members.

When Jackson was charged with illegally selling marijuana, a judge
ruled that Answerdam didn't qualify as a collective entitled to
distribute the drug under state law because most of its members simply
paid for the pot and didn't grow it. A state appeals court disagreed
in July and granted a new trial to Jackson, who had been convicted and
sentenced to six months in jail.

California law "permits retail dispensaries" and does not limit their
size, as long as they operate as not-for-profit collectives or
cooperatives, said the Fourth District Court of Appeal in a 3-0
ruling. The court rejected prosecutors' arguments that the law
protects only small collectives in which most or all members take part
in producing marijuana for their own medical use.

Prosecutors from several counties asked the state Supreme Court to set
the ruling aside and hear the case, but the court unanimously denied
review Wednesday, leaving the appellate decision as binding authority
for trial courts in California.

The court has separately agreed to review cases involving local
authority to regulate or ban medical marijuana dispensaries. But Henry
Wykowski, Harborside's lawyer, said the Jackson case should be the
last word on the legality of large dispensaries under state law.

"Now that the California courts have ruled that size is not an issue,
if that's the reason that Melinda Haag chose to file a forfeiture
action against Harborside, she should do the right thing and dismiss
the action," Wykowski said.

Jack Gillund, a spokesman for Haag, said she would have no comment on
an ongoing court case. The next hearing, on an attempt by the city of
Oakland to intervene and challenge the prosecutor's action, is
scheduled Jan. 31.

The state case is People vs. Jackson, S207198. 
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