Contra Costa Supes to Terminate Patients' Rights Tues

This a public hearing. A turn out of serious patient-activists would be
very helpful to inform the Board that patients are real people who need
safe, local access to medicine for relief. The hearing is at the County
building at 651 Pine Street, Martinez, 94553.

Tuesday, 1/16/07, at 1:00 pm the Contra Costa County Board of
Supervisors will decide whether to shut down the only medical cannabis
collective in East County on a zoning technicality. MariCare Collective
is located in Pacheco in a medical office building. MariCare is serving
thousands of legally recognized Contra Costa medical cannabis patients,
and providing much needed safe, local access to quality-assured
medicine.

The County zoning department admits that MariCare causes no harm or
nuisance, but asserts that technically any pharmacy in a medical office
building requires a conditional use permit. Recent crime statistics for
the area show a dramatic drop in crime in the year that MariCare has
been operating.

Without any showing of harm, and ignoring all the public good and
community benefit of the non-profit collective, the zoning department
is recommending that the Board order MariCare closed on a
technicality--before the Board has even established its zoning policy
for medical cannabis. The Board has been studying the issue since April
of next year.

Should the Board close a beneficial community non-profit on a
technicality before it even decides what its policy is?

Hopefully, the Board will not put the cart before the horse in this
way. A wiser procedure would be for the Board to hear from its Medical
Cannabis Task Force first, and then consider the specific details of
particular collectives and locations. In the mean time while the Board
deliberates on the best policy for the County, MariCare should be
allowed to continue providing quality-assured medicine to Contra Costa
patients in need of safe, local access.

James Anthony
Attorney and spokesperson for MariCare

James Anthony
Counselor and Attorney at Law

Law Offices of James Anthony
3542 Fruitvale Avenue, 351
Oakland, CA 94602
510/207-6243
510/228-0411 fax
MMDLandUseLaw [at] comcast.net
Specializing in Medical Marijuana Dispensary Land Use Law