California, Hermosa

[palmspringsbum]

Originally published Thursday, April 27, 2006
Updated Thursday, April 27, 2006

Hermosa places moratorium on medical marijuana
Local cities are moving to impose temporary bans as they explore guidelines on such establishments.

By Deepa Bharath
DAILY BREEZE

Faced with a large gap between what federal and state law allow regarding medical marijuana dispensaries and the prospect of an influx of potential customers looking to score a legal high, local cities are moving to impose temporary bans as they explore guidelines on such establishments.

Hermosa Beach this week became the first city in the South Bay to impose a moratorium against medical marijuana dispensaries. The council unanimously voted Tuesday in favor of a 45-day moratorium.

Pot dispensaries for medical use are allowed under California's Proposition 215, but federal law deems distribution of marijuana for any purpose illegal. Ten other states signed off on similar laws allowing medical marijuana use.

Hermosa Beach City Attorney Michael Jenkins told council members that other communities where such dispensaries have cropped up are facing problems.

"These clinics obviously attract people into town who want to use marijuana, but who are not necessarily ill," he said.

None currently operate in Hermosa Beach. The only functioning dispensary in the South Bay and Harbor Area is in San Pedro.

City Manager Steve Burrell said the moratorium will give planners time to come up with a regulatory ordinance for conditional use permits that will spell out specific guidelines on how, where and when such clinics may operate in the city.

The moratorium may be extended twice, Jenkins said. The maximum duration of the extensions are 10 months and 15 days for the first and a year for the second.

"That'll give staff adequate time to come up with an ordinance," he said.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last month approved an ordinance that will permit the dispensaries in commercial and industrial zones of Lennox, Del Aire and other unincorporated areas.

But the approval came with the conditions that they must be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, parks, churches and day-care centers. They must also hire security guards and will have to publicly post their owners' contact phone numbers, among other requirements.

In addition to marijuana that could be smoked, the dispensaries will also sell candy and other edible items containing the drug to authorized patients.

Supervisor Don Knabe, who proposed several amendments to this ordinance, is most concerned about the safety of the communities where these dispensaries are established, said spokesman David Sommers.

"Supervisor Knabe doesn't have a position about city-imposed moratoriums," he said. "But cities need to do what's in their best interest and he supports that."

Knabe's proposed amendments include proper labeling for the food items, prohibiting sale or consumption of alcohol at the dispensaries and banning the clinics from displaying or selling pot-smoking paraphernalia.

Neighboring beach cities said they too are looking at options to regulate such establishments that might want to set up shop here. Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb said he is researching the issue and considering the possibility of a moratorium.

"If you allow them you're breaking federal law and if you don't you're not following state law," he said. "A moratorium is a more cautious approach to the issue."

In Manhattan Beach, it's not a burning issue, said City Attorney Robert Wadden.

"We've discussed it at the staff level, but haven't presented it to City Council yet," he said. "We don't have pending applications for dispensaries and, given the high real estate cost, we don't think our city would be a desirable location for these dispensaries."

The Lawndale City Council last week directed its Planning Commission to create guidelines for the dispensaries.

Meanwhile, the conflict between state and federal laws governing dispensaries is continuing to play out in court.

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently backed federal enforcement officials. In June 2005, the high court ruled in a 6-3 decision that agents were within their rights in 2001 to arrest two California residents -- one with brain cancer and the other with severe back pain -- for using marijuana to help ease their symptoms.

Federal officials have raided and shut down several dispensaries in the past year, said Sarah Fenno, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles.

"We have the right to arrest anyone who is distributing marijuana in the United States because it is illegal by federal law," she said.

"There are exceptions for medical use."

Fenno declined to comment about how many dispensaries the DEA has raided or any ongoing investigation.

Dennis Perron, the marijuana advocate who authored Proposition 215, said such moratoriums raise the price of marijuana in dispensaries because of high demand among patients.

"The price of 1 pound of weed is anywhere between $4,000 and $8,000," he said. "It's ridiculous and it's because of cities placing these bans and making life more painful for those who are already in pain."