DPFCA: Calaveras Extends Ban on MMJ Clubs

Marijuana club ban extended in Calaveras

by Vanessa Turner , Calaveras Enterprise
November 3rd, 2004

Calaveras County supervisors raised questions on the legality of
medical marijuana Monday while they approved an extension to a
temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries here.

Supervisor Paul Stein said he wanted to revisit an ordinance the
board adopted after the 1996 passage of Proposition 215, which allows
California patients to use medical marijuana with a physician's
recommendation.

The ordinance set enforcement guidelines for the sheriff to regulate
the use of medical marijuana.

"I opposed that from the beginning," Stein said.

"I'd like to see the board's view of whether they support (medical
marijuana use) in the county," he said.

"I don't support bringing the guidelines back," Supervisor Merita
Callaway said.

Neither did Supervisor and board Chairman Tom Tryon.

But Supervisors Lucy Thein and Victoria Erickson did and the
guidelines will come back for review when the ordinance is ready.

County Counsel Jim Jones said he would bring back the history and
Supreme Court decisions for the board to review.

The board unanimously extended by 60 days a 45-day ban approved Sept.
27 to study the issue further and come up with an appropriate zoning
ordinance. That ban would have expired Nov. 11.

Because the ordinance has to go to the Planning Commission first, a
60-day extension of the ban was necessary, Jones said.

The extension is also needed to give the board time to consider
commissioners' recommendations and to accommodate the required 30-day
period before a zoning ordinance goes into effect, Jones said.

The Planning Commission will consider the first draft of the
ordinance at its meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday.

At present, marijuana clubs are not listed as a permitted use in any
county zone.

The proposed ordinance puts the dispensaries as a conditional use in
all zoning districts designated as professional offices. Conditional
uses require an administrative use permit, which is issued by the
planning director and is good for one year with an option to reapply
every year.

This discussion started when Kim Cue of San Andreas applied to open a
dispensary in San Andreas at Highway 49 and Mountain Ranch Road near
the county surveyor and 4-H offices.

Cue showed up at Monday's board meeting to say, "I'm the one who
started this whole medical marijuana dispensary thing. You have my
complete support," she told the board.

Cue runs Calaveras Compassion Collective, a medical marijuana
delivery service with 60 to 70 clients in Calaveras County.

Contact Vanessa Turner at vturner@calaverasenterprise

Calaveras panel just says no to pot proposal

by Chris Nichols, Union Democrat
November 5th, 2004

If a medical marijuana dispensary opens in Calaveras County, it will
be over the objections of county planning commissioners.

By a 4 to 1 margin, they voted yesterday not to recommend a draft
ordinance that would allow Kim Cue of San Andreas, or any other
applicants, to open the county's first cannabis club, as the
dispensaries are commonly called.

The Board of Supervisors will have a final vote on the ordinance Nov. 22.

"I am very disappointed," Cue said, speaking after yesterday's
bimonthly commission meeting. Cue applied two months ago to open a
cannabis club near the intersection of Highway 49 and Mountain Ranch
Road.

Without laws on the books for how to regulate cannabis clubs,
supervisors last month placed a 45-day ban on any dispensaries in the
county. They extended that ban another 60 days on Monday.

Despite the commission stance, Cue said she remains optimistic about
her chances of opening a club soon.

"I have all the faith in the world that (the board) will pass it,"
Cue said. "I'm not going anywhere, it's going to get done."

The 29-year-old Antioch native currently runs a delivery service
providing medical marijuana to 60 to 70 patients throughout the
county and beyond.

Citing safety concerns and a lack of evidence that cannabis clubs
would be regulated, several commissioners said yesterday they were
uncomfortable recommending the ordinance.

"To my mind, this is not the way to go about it," said Commissioner
Suzanne Kuehl, who added that she would support medical marijuana
only if it received federal approval and was sold through pharmacies.
She added that she has used numerous pharmaceutical medications for
16 years to treat a chronic illness but was not convinced that
marijuana should be allowed as medication.

Medical cannabis became legal in 1996 after California voters
approved Proposition 215, allowing for the sale and harvest of
limited amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Federal law bans
all marijuana use.

Several cities and counties, including Angels Camp and Amador
County, have passed ordinances regulating cannabis clubs, dictating
where they can open and how much marijuana they can have on site.

During yesterday's meeting, several commissioners wrestled with how
to balance the conflicting state and federal positions on medical
marijuana.

"I have trouble giving approval to something that clearly is against
federal law," Commission Chairman Ted Allured said. He added he was
not convinced that the county must allow the dispensaries to operate.

"To me, (Proposition 215) says we can do it but that doesn't mean we
have to do it," he said.

Commissioner Michael Dell'Orto voted against the negative
recommendation. He argued that the state has a constitutional right
to make its own laws, and that the county should follow the
Proposition 215 guidelines.

"The people of California have said they want this addressed," Dell'Orto said.

After the meeting, County Counsel James Jones said Proposition 215
legalizes medical marijuana but does not compel counties to open
cannabis dispensaries.

Though Cue said she would seek legal advice if the county rejects
her application, Jones would not predict whether such a decision
would open the county to a lawsuit.

"In these times, virtually anything can," he commented.

He confirmed that extraordinary circumstances, including a
heightened concern for public safety, could justify a county decision
to reject the ordinance.

Representing the county Sheriff's Department at yesterday's meeting,
Capt. Mike Walker said he was concerned the potentially "huge indoor
growing operation" at Cue's dispensary would attract criminals.

Under the ordinance, dispensaries could grow six mature marijuana
plants and 12 immature plants for each patient they serve.

Walker said this and the large amount of cash stored at such a
business could make it a target for thieves.

Cue said she projects that her business could serve hundreds of
patients but said she would do "everything possible" to reduce the
risk of theft. She added that plants would not be grown on site but
rather received from outside vendors. She also said she would not
allow any customers under age 25.

Though she said she remains confident that she will open a
dispensary by early next year, Cue said she has consulted seven
attorneys, including famed civil rights and criminal defense attorney
Tony Serra, to aid her in her in the process.

"If this county doesn't want to support me, I'm going to have to
take legal actions," she said.
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