"If it's truly medicine, it should be dispensed like a pharmacy," she said.

"I would support an all-out ban," said Councilman Gary Plass. "But my biggest fear is a lawsuit."

In the end, council members decided to revisit the issue in June, noting a one-year moratorium they passed against marijuana clubs won't expire until August.

Healdsburg, like all other cities in the county, other than Cloverdale, last year passed a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana outlets.

Both the county Board of Supervisors and the Sebastopol City Council have meetings scheduled today to consider the issue of regulating marijuana outlets and whether to extend their temporary bans.

Local governments say they want to avoid problems and complaints that have plagued some medical marijuana outlets, including smoking around the dispensaries, illegal sales and robberies.

The governments are wrestling with conflicting legal issues brought on by a state law enacted by voters 10 years ago that allowed the use and cultivation for medical purposes. But federal law prohibits it, with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year the federal government has the authority to prohibit local cultivation and use of marijuana.

A number of cities in California, including Concord, Susanville, Fresno and Pasadena, have been sued for banning medical marijuana dispensaries.

Medical marijuana advocates say the Compassionate Use Act passed by voters preempts local law and cities cannot interfere with distribution of medical marijuana.

Santa Rosa last year became the first city in Sonoma County to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. The City Council decided to allow dispensaries - but only two serving no more than 500 customers each, per month - something marijuana advocates complained was too restrictive.

The Santa Rosa ordinance also limits where and when dispensaries may operate, requires criminal background checks for employees and prohibits smoking on the property.

There are four known medical marijuana dispensaries in Sonoma County: In Guerneville, south of Santa Rosa city limits on Santa Rosa Avenue, on Montgomery Drive in east Santa Rosa and in southwest Santa Rosa off Dutton Avenue.

Medical marijuana advocates say they prefer some type of regulation of the clubs.

"The more above-board it gets, the better," said Doc Knapp, a spokesman for the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "The more underground it is, the less easy it is to control for law enforcement and patient health and safety - the quality of the marijuana. It helps everybody to have regulations."

Note: Worry about lawsuits from marijuana advocates spurs delay in decision.

Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Author: Clark Mason, The Press Democrat
Published: April 4, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/

Related Articles & Web Site:

SAMM
http://www.samm.net/

SR Cracks Down on Pot Clubs
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20471.shtml

I guess it will not be long before Canadian citizens are as fed up with their "leaders" as most people in the US are with their "leaders".

I hold out hope that the US Constitution will ultimately allow "The People" to demand a Government that is truly by and for the People.

Yo Mamakind Desperately Needs Yo Help!

Basically, I was in Vancouver when I received a call from my husband (foam on the forums) that Canada Customs & Immigration had shown up at my house on the Sushine Coast with about 20 cops. He was with my three year-old, Mia. They came on the phone and said they were kicking him out of the country for at least a year and catching the next ferry out in 40mins., so I'd better find someone to take my daughter. They didn't even let her say good bye to him.

My husband is very sick with Myalgic Encephalomeyelitis and uses a respirator to help with his breathing. Despite this, they arrested him on a Friday, so he'd have to spend the weekend in a holding cell, without his meds. He's had a legal medical exemption to use and grow his own meds for months. Despite this, the RCMP came into my home, trashed it and cut down all of his plants. He has no criminal convictions, neither here nor in the States.

In fact, due to RCMP harrassment prior to this (mostly due to the fact that I was one of the founders of the Sunshine Coast Compassion Club), I now hold a criminal record for cultivating the plants that he's now legally allowed to grow!

My husband was not here illegally. We've always renewed his visa and were in the process of applying for Landed Immigrant status for him, but Customs & Immigration turned down his last Visa application, stating that , " 1) We think he might try to stay in Canada 2) Though he has no record and no convictions, we're going to count dropped charges as convictions and keep him out based on that".

I was able to have him home for about 12hrs. before he had to leave. He only had an hour to visit with our eight year old son, who is in foster care due to his chronic and severe medical issues. During that hour, we had to try to get foam's meds from the cop because they admittedly, had no right to take it. Someone "forgot" the key to the locker, could he come back tomorrow? He had to leave the country by noon!

The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), "Social Services", immediately threatened to apprehend both of my children. Only through much negotiation and extraordinary planning have I managed to avert this, but I continue to have them breathing down my neck.

You see according to MCFD, even though I've been using cannabis as my own medicine for years to help alieviate chronic intestinal issues (possibly Crohn's, I'm at the tail end of the diagnoses process), an activist for years, worked for CC and now Skunk Magazine, ran a compassion club and my husband is a medical user and grower himself: I AM A POTHEAD JUNKIE WHO HAS TO GO INTO REHAB &/OR THE PSYCH WARD AND TAKE PISS TESTS.

Why the double standard between my husband and I? They say it's because I'm my children's primary caregiver because of foam's health and because my son is particularily challenging to parent, I need to be "MORE STRAIGHT THAN ANYBODY ELSE". My doctor has told me that MCFD informed her that I am not allowed to be given an exemption for this reason.

So, now I have a very sick husband who is stuck over the border with no way to generate more income and support himself. I'm trying to work full time with four jobs (I'm Sex Editor & Sales Rep at Skunk, Editor-In-Chief of Skeet Magazine and I model), be a single mom with my three year old and try to get my house in order for my very, very challenging eight year old to come home at the end of the month (I won't even go into his medical issues, but they are physical as well as neurological.)

Our lawyer said that there is a possiblity of getting him back within a few weeks (Immigration says otherwise), but it's going to cost us approximately $4000+ CND to pay for the lawyer, the fees, etc... Legal Aid won't accept our case because they say it's unwinnable. Not to mention the US might cut three quatrers of his disablility off because he's "not living with his wife and kids anymore, so they'll just cut off the portion that's supposed to go to us".

It seems that we are probably going to get an eviction notice this week (I'm $650 short), which is made even worse by the fact that we can't afford to move and had really lucked-in on a landlord who would be willing to let foam have his garden.

If we get evicted, it'll mean MCFD will just hold onto my son even longer and their accusations that pot has ruined my family's lives will be somehow fortified, even though I argue that it's prohibition that has ruined things for us, not pot.

There just isn't enough of me to handle all of this. It's too much, too fast. I'm really not very good at asking for help, but I need to do so now. Here's how you can help...

I'm putting together a fundraising event and would like to do something at the 4/20 rally in Vancouver. I really need cash more than anything right now to pay rent, keep foam going down in the States, take care of the children's needs (I still have certain financial responsibilities associated with my son, even though he's in Care).

I need $650 for rent right now, $1400 to the lawyer right now and realistically about $200 just so I can put some gas in my car to drive Mia to school and buy food for us.

Also when the cops took his meds, they essensially took mine. I cannot afford the medicine that keeps me from throwing up all morning and eating SOMETHING so I can cope with all of this bullshit. And of course, I have thwarting doctors.

I'm trying to get a fundraiser going for both Mr.Mamakind & Marijuana Man around the 4/20 weekend, so any donations of ANYTHING for a silent auction and raffle would be greatly appreciated (paraphrenalia, art, gift cerificates, ANYTHING!!!). If you're planning on being in Vancouver that weekend, there will be a kissing/spanking booth set up at the rally, so come on down and Mistress Pain & I will make your day.

SKUNK MAGAZINE & Cannabis Culture Magazine have both donated some gnarly swag for the cause, so look for perhaps a raffle for signed shirts and mags.

Another thing you can do is write the media. There will be media coverage of this, but I just don't have the time and energy to do all of this alone. Please help me get the word out, especially at this time when Harper is trying to further establish this horrible prohibition that has laid to waste mine and so many other families. This is an outrageous thing to have happen: remember foam has no record anywhere and nor was he illegaly at any time. He's legally married to a Canadian and has two young Canadian children!

My mailing address is :

PO BOX 108 Roberts Creek, BC V0N 2W0

Please feel free to PM or email me mamakind@skunkmagazine.com at anytime with any questions or concerns you may have. Ginormous thank yous to everyone who has helped us so far (JodieGR, cannagirl420, FranCouver, AnewB & Suncell in particular).

Stay green,

Mamakind ;->---~~

Yo Mamakind Desperately Needs Yo Help!

Basically, I was in Vancouver when I received a call from my husband (foam on the forums) that Canada Customs & Immigration had shown up at my house on the Sushine Coast with about 20 cops. He was with my three year-old, Mia. They came on the phone and said they were kicking him out of the country for at least a year and catching the next ferry out in 40mins., so I'd better find someone to take my daughter. They didn't even let her say good bye to him.

My husband is very sick with Myalgic Encephalomeyelitis and uses a respirator to help with his breathing. Despite this, they arrested him on a Friday, so he'd have to spend the weekend in a holding cell, without his meds. He's had a legal medical exemption to use and grow his own meds for months. Despite this, the RCMP came into my home, trashed it and cut down all of his plants. He has no criminal convictions, neither here nor in the States.

In fact, due to RCMP harrassment prior to this (mostly due to the fact that I was one of the founders of the Sunshine Coast Compassion Club), I now hold a criminal record for cultivating the plants that he's now legally allowed to grow!

My husband was not here illegally. We've always renewed his visa and were in the process of applying for Landed Immigrant status for him, but Customs & Immigration turned down his last Visa application, stating that , " 1) We think he might try to stay in Canada 2) Though he has no record and no convictions, we're going to count dropped charges as convictions and keep him out based on that".

I was able to have him home for about 12hrs. before he had to leave. He only had an hour to visit with our eight year old son, who is in foster care due to his chronic and severe medical issues. During that hour, we had to try to get foam's meds from the cop because they admittedly, had no right to take it. Someone "forgot" the key to the locker, could he come back tomorrow? He had to leave the country by noon!

The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), "Social Services", immediately threatened to apprehend both of my children. Only through much negotiation and extraordinary planning have I managed to avert this, but I continue to have them breathing down my neck.

You see according to MCFD, even though I've been using cannabis as my own medicine for years to help alieviate chronic intestinal issues (possibly Crohn's, I'm at the tail end of the diagnoses process), an activist for years, worked for CC and now Skunk Magazine, ran a compassion club and my husband is a medical user and grower himself: I AM A POTHEAD JUNKIE WHO HAS TO GO INTO REHAB &/OR THE PSYCH WARD AND TAKE PISS TESTS.

Why the double standard between my husband and I? They say it's because I'm my children's primary caregiver because of foam's health and because my son is particularily challenging to parent, I need to be "MORE STRAIGHT THAN ANYBODY ELSE". My doctor has told me that MCFD informed her that I am not allowed to be given an exemption for this reason.

So, now I have a very sick husband who is stuck over the border with no way to generate more income and support himself. I'm trying to work full time with four jobs (I'm Sex Editor & Sales Rep at Skunk, Editor-In-Chief of Skeet Magazine and I model), be a single mom with my three year old and try to get my house in order for my very, very challenging eight year old to come home at the end of the month (I won't even go into his medical issues, but they are physical as well as neurological.)

Our lawyer said that there is a possiblity of getting him back within a few weeks (Immigration says otherwise), but it's going to cost us approximately $4000+ CND to pay for the lawyer, the fees, etc... Legal Aid won't accept our case because they say it's unwinnable. Not to mention the US might cut three quatrers of his disablility off because he's "not living with his wife and kids anymore, so they'll just cut off the portion that's supposed to go to us".

It seems that we are probably going to get an eviction notice this week (I'm $650 short), which is made even worse by the fact that we can't afford to move and had really lucked-in on a landlord who would be willing to let foam have his garden.

If we get evicted, it'll mean MCFD will just hold onto my son even longer and their accusations that pot has ruined my family's lives will be somehow fortified, even though I argue that it's prohibition that has ruined things for us, not pot.

There just isn't enough of me to handle all of this. It's too much, too fast. I'm really not very good at asking for help, but I need to do so now. Here's how you can help...

I'm putting together a fundraising event and would like to do something at the 4/20 rally in Vancouver. I really need cash more than anything right now to pay rent, keep foam going down in the States, take care of the children's needs (I still have certain financial responsibilities associated with my son, even though he's in Care).

I need $650 for rent right now, $1400 to the lawyer right now and realistically about $200 just so I can put some gas in my car to drive Mia to school and buy food for us.

Also when the cops took his meds, they essensially took mine. I cannot afford the medicine that keeps me from throwing up all morning and eating SOMETHING so I can cope with all of this bullshit. And of course, I have thwarting doctors.

I'm trying to get a fundraiser going for both Mr.Mamakind & Marijuana Man around the 4/20 weekend, so any donations of ANYTHING for a silent auction and raffle would be greatly appreciated (paraphrenalia, art, gift cerificates, ANYTHING!!!). If you're planning on being in Vancouver that weekend, there will be a kissing/spanking booth set up at the rally, so come on down and Mistress Pain & I will make your day.

SKUNK MAGAZINE & Cannabis Culture Magazine have both donated some gnarly swag for the cause, so look for perhaps a raffle for signed shirts and mags.

Another thing you can do is write the media. There will be media coverage of this, but I just don't have the time and energy to do all of this alone. Please help me get the word out, especially at this time when Harper is trying to further establish this horrible prohibition that has laid to waste mine and so many other families. This is an outrageous thing to have happen: remember foam has no record anywhere and nor was he illegaly at any time. He's legally married to a Canadian and has two young Canadian children!

My mailing address is :

PO BOX 108 Roberts Creek, BC V0N 2W0

Please feel free to PM or email me mamakind@skunkmagazine.com at anytime with any questions or concerns you may have. Ginormous thank yous to everyone who has helped us so far (JodieGR, cannagirl420, FranCouver, AnewB & Suncell in particular).

Stay green,

Mamakind ;->---~~