California, Lake Elisinore

[palmspringsbum]

Police chief urges ban on pot dispensaries

LAKE ELSINORE: Federal law bars its sale and use, but the state allows usage for medical purposes.



01:09 AM PST on Tuesday, February 28, 2006

By MEGHAN LEWIT / The Press-Enterprise

The Lake Elsinore City Council is expected to consider an ordinance tonight that would ban facilities that dispense medical marijuana.

Police Chief Louis Fetherolf is recommending a prohibition on such facilities operating in the city, citing public safety concerns in a city staff report.

Although no dispensaries are currently operating in Lake Elsinore, the ordinance would be a pre-emptive measure to keep the city clear of any conflict between state and federal law, Fetherolf said.

"It's a Pandora's box of problems for peace officers in California," Fetherolf said. "The bottom line is to protect the city and make sure our enforcement is evenhanded and legal in Lake Elsinore."

According to the staff report, communities with medical-marijuana dispensaries have reported problems such as people smoking marijuana around the facilities, burglaries and illegal drug sales to nonpatients.

Other area cities, including Temecula, Moreno Valley and Palm Desert have enacted temporary bans on dispensaries while city officials draft policies to regulate the facilities.

Riverside County began issuing medical-marijuana identification cards in December.

Dispensaries, defined in the ordinance as any facility or location where medical marijuana is made available or distributed, also present a conflict for law enforcement, Fetherolf said.

While federal law prohibits the sale or use of marijuana, California permits using marijuana for medical purposes. California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that people who smoke marijuana with a doctor's permission could still be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws.

Medical marijuana advocate Martin Victor, of Temecula, said he is concerned that the ordinance would also prohibit medical-marijuana collectives that provide the drug to its members and are specifically permitted by state law.

"People have to have a place to get their medicine," said Victor, a member of the Palm Springs-based Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project. "I don't want people getting stuff off the street."

Reach Meghan Lewit at (951) 375-3727 or mlewit@PE.com

[palmspringsbum]

Lake Elsinore votes to ban medical-marijuana dispensaries

CITY COUNCIL: The law will affect only storefront firms, not collectives, members say.



12:46 AM PST on Wednesday, March 1, 2006

By MEGHAN LEWIT / The Press-Enterprise

LAKE ELSINORE - The City Council on Tuesday approved a ban on medical-marijuana dispensaries, becoming the latest city in the county to jump into the fray over such facilities.

Acting on a recommendation from the city's police chief, council members voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance that prohibits the establishment of dispensaries in the city. However, the council clarified that the measure will not apply to collectives, which provide the drug to its members and are specifically permitted by state law.

The ordinance states that federal law prohibiting the distribution and use of marijuana precludes the opening of dispensaries within the city. The issue has been raised in several other Inland cities, including Temecula, Moreno Valley and Palm Desert, which all have enacted temporary bans on dispensaries while city officials draft policies to regulate the facilities. There are currently no dispensaries in Lake Elsinore.

Medical marijuana advocates in attendance said that the ordinance as originally written was too broad and could restrict the collectives and cooperatives. While dispensaries are typically storefront businesses that operate for profit, collectives are groups of people who work together to provide medical marijuana to contributing members, said Douglas Lanphere, a medical marijuana advocate in Riverside County.

Lake Elsinore resident Stephen Roper said he is living with AIDS and is a medical marijuana patient.

"This is life sustaining," he said, addressing the council. "This is not about the law, this is about living."

While federal law prohibits the sale or use of marijuana, California permits using the drug for medical purposes.

Councilman Bob Schissner said he supported the ordinance with the proposed changes.

"I don't feel like I want to speak for or against the use of medical marijuana," he said. "In order to be consistent ... I have no bad feeling for making the changes that have been suggested."

In 1996, California voters approved the Compassionate Use Act that allows patients with a physician's recommendation to transport and use marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that patients in states that allow medical marijuana could still be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws.

Lake Elsinore Police Chief Louis Fetherolf said the ordinance will protect the city from getting mired in the conflict between state and federal laws.

"It takes us out of the unenviable position of having to enforce one (law) that is in violation of another," he said.

Reach Meghan Lewit at (951) 375-3727 or mlewit@PE.com