California, Santa Rosa

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Tue, Jan. 30, 2007

Santa Rosa police refuse to release medical marijuana


The Press-Democrat

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Police officers who refused to return 18 pounds of marijuana to a man who used it as medicine could be held in contempt of court for disobeying a Sonoma County judge.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Antolini ordered police to appear in court March 6 to explain why they shouldn't be held in contempt of court for refusing to follow his order.

Officers seized the marijuana from Shashon Jenkins, 26, after his arrest in October, but a prosecutor dropped the case after a defense lawyer produced evidence in court that he's a medical marijuana user and caregiver. The order from the judge followed.

But officers have refused because they said federal law, which doesn't recognize medical marijuana use, prohibits them from returning Jenkins' cannabis.

"We're not a dispensary, we're not going to give out marijuana," said Sgt. Eric Litchfield, who supervises the detectives who arrested Jenkins. "It's illegal."

Such showdowns have become familiar since California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which authorized medical use of marijuana.

"The issue really is the conflict between federal law and our state and local laws," said Amy Chapman, Jenkins' public defender.


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<center><small>Information from: The Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemo.com</small></center>

[palmspringsbum]

SR pot club may move to Cotati

<span class=postbigbold>Letter from property owner's attorney reveals lease won't be renewed</span>

By PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
January 30, 2008


The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary whose lease is expiring in Santa Rosa wants to open in Cotati, officials said.

Dona Frank's application is the first since Cotati adopted marijuana regulations in August, senior planner Marsha Sue Lustig said.

Frank also tried to open in the Sonoma Valley, but her application was rejected. She didn't respond to telephone inquiries made over several days.

A letter obtained this week may explain her efforts to find a new location for Organicann, the medical marijuana cooperative she started in 2005.

The letter said her lease will not be renewed and rejected an apparent offer to purchase the Santa Rosa Avenue property.

The Dec. 18 letter, signed by a lawyer for property owner Ruben Luna, said Frank didn't disclose her plans for a marijuana club when she signed a three-year lease. Instead, the letter said, she said she planned to run a video game business.

"Mr. Luna never gave his permission for drugs to be sold on his property," said the letter, signed by Santa Rosa attorney Wojciech Makowski.

The letter was sent to county planners and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as well as Frank and her lawyer, Lisa Gygax of Forestville.

Gygax couldn't be reached Tuesday for comment.

Luna tried to evict Frank, the letter said. She was allowed to stay under an out-of-court settlement, according to a former lawyer for Luna.

Makowski's letter said the lease "will not be renewed on any terms" and "the property will not be sold to Ms. Frank short of a court order to that effect."

The lease expires in April, Makowski said.

Frank's application in Cotati could go to the City Council in the next month or so if she is able to resolve parking issues, Lustig said.

"We just started looking into it," Lustig said. "We're not sure yet if it meets the requirements."

Cotati's regulations allow just one marijuana dispensary in the city. They limit the number of customers to 1,000 a month and require that dispensaries be located at least 500 feet from schools, parks or other youth-oriented facilities, Lustig said.

Dispensaries are barred from residential areas and are restricted to East Cotati Avenue, Gravenstein Highway or Redwood Drive, she said.

Jim Barrett, a lawyer and former Cotati councilman, said Frank has offered to buy an office building that he owns.

Barrett said the sale was contingent on license approval. He would not disclose the price.

Barrett, who in 1974 represented a city official whose marijuana plants were seized by police and stolen from evidence by two City Council members, said he supports the use of pot for medical purposes.

"I'd be glad and proud to sell the medical marijuana people this building," said Barrett, who was elected in 1975. "We're coming in the front door this time."

Cotati's rules are modeled after those adopted in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and the county since state voters in 1996 approved an initiative allowing people with a doctor's referral to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical use.

The rules set opening hours and discourage things such as smoking on premises to prevent related problems.

Outright bans have been enacted in Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Windsor, largely at the urging of police.

A Cotati dispensary would bring the number of co-ops in the county to six.

They include two in Santa Rosa, one in Guerneville, one in Sebastopol and Frank's in the unincorporated area just south of Santa Rosa's city limits, said Doc Knapp of Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

At least two delivery services provide marijuana from sources other than the pot clubs, Knapp said.

"I think more dispensaries are needed," Knapp said.

Last year, the Cotati council signaled its willingness to allow dispensaries. It passed an ordinance with unanimous support. Frank was on an advisory panel that helped draft the measure.

However, not everyone supports the idea.

Amy Catelli, a homemaker who also was on the advisory panel, said a marijuana club will bring loitering and traffic.

With other dispensaries a short drive away, she said Cotati should reconsider.

"Our town can't handle it," Catelli said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 762-7297 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.