cannabisnews.com: Clovis Considers Marijuana Ordinances 










  Clovis Considers Marijuana Ordinances 

Posted by CN Staff on February 27, 2005 at 08:25:42 PT
By Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee  
Source: Fresno Bee 

Clovis is considering a break with other Fresno County communities that would make it easier for medical marijuana patients to receive their drug. Planning commissioners are examining several alternatives to temporary ordinances approved by Fresno County and the cities of Fresno and Clovis that would make it easier to supply and acquire marijuana for prescribed patients.
The ordinance now limits marijuana sales to no more than two patients, permits cultivation only in locked structures and limits possession to six mature or 12 immature plants per person. Under the existing ordinance, a cultivation cooperative must be confined to an industrial zone with a limit of 100 plants. Under state law, a patient can possess up to 8 ounces.The more-lenient approach is being pitched by an attorney who represents medical marijuana users. The alternate Clovis proposal would allow marijuana dispensaries in industrially zoned areas if the more stringent ordinance is deemed too restrictive by a court.State law allows medical marijuana, but the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this year whether state law can supersede federal law, which considers marijuana an unlawful substance.Shaver Lake lawyer Bill McPike appealed through the Clovis planning commission for a system that allows identification cards for medical marijuana users. He also seeks dispensaries with fees that will pay for police department inspection and patrol of sales sites.He also wants a more definitive description of backyard "structures" or in-home grow areas. Those wanting to make medical marijuana purchases could be any person with a medical marijuana prescription, not just Clovis residents. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/considers.htmSource: Fresno Bee, The (CA)Author: Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee Published: Sunday, February 27, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Fresno BeeContact: letters fresnobee.comWebsite: http://www.fresnobee.com/Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml

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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 01, 2005 at 09:22:48 PT

Mercury News: County Extends Pot Club Restriction
Ban will continue one year in Alemeda.By Guy Ashley, Knight RidderMarch 1, 2005Alameda County supervisors on Monday extended for one year an ordinance banning new medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas.The 4-0 vote gives the county additional time ``to evaluate the regulatory alternatives'' for medical marijuana clubs, said Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, who sponsored the measure.Supervisor Scott Haggerty did not attend Monday's special meeting.The law was first passed in October, and extended once in December, in response to seven clubs opening shop in the Ashland and Cherryland areas, between Castro Valley, San Leandro and Hayward. It will not affect those existing clubs.Officials believe several of the pot dispensaries migrated to unincorporated Alameda County in the wake of new restrictions imposed in the nearby cities of Oakland, Hayward, Berkeley, Emeryville and Fremont.An advisory committee that includes community members, law enforcement and planning officials has been working on a county pot-club law, which it hopes will be ready for adoption before the moratorium ends.The law would specify permissible locations, hours and the total number of dispensaries allowed in unincorporated areas.The dispensaries were first established when California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, making it legal to use the drug for medical purposes. But the law failed to clear up numerous questions, including where medical marijuana can legally be produced and whether federal statutes outlawing marijuana trump the provisions of the state proposition.Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the question of whether federal authorities can prosecute patients and caregivers and confiscate their marijuana. Plaintiffs in the case include Angel Raich of Oakland, who says she uses it to ease problems caused by a brain tumor and a wasting disorder.Copyright: 2005 Mercury Newshttp://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11020075.htm
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on March 01, 2005 at 08:51:29 PT

VCS: Council Blocks Marijuana Dispensary
Simi police ask for more time to study the issue.By Teresa RochesterMarch 1, 2005The opening of any medical marijuana dispensary in Simi Valley has been banned for the next 45 days. On Monday night, the City Council voted 5-0 to enact the moratorium at the request of the Simi Valley Police Department.  
The ban will allow local police and city officials to study the possibility of allowing such a business to open within city limits. Police officials asked for the moratorium after the City Attorney's Office and the city's Environmental Services Department received an inquiry from a man who wants to open a dispensary -- a place where people who have a doctor's prescription could buy medical marijuana. Police Capt. Tony Harper described a dispensary as a place like a pharmacy. "Why wouldn't they just do that at a regular pharmacy," Councilwoman Barbra Williamson asked in response. The answer from Harper and the council members was that pharmacies are not allowed to distribute the drug. The city does not have specific regulations in place for restricting or licensing such facilities. Added to that, Simi Valley's zoning ordinance does not specifically define medical marijuana dispensaries as uses that are allowed or prohibited within specific zoning districts. Nine years ago, California voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's prescription with the passage of Proposition 215, "The Compassionate Use Act of 1996." Recently, the state passed legislation that calls for a voluntary identification card program for qualified patients and caregivers, limits on the amount of dried marijuana or marijuana plants per qualified patient, and confidentiality and privacy restrictions, according to a report put together by the Police Department. The report lists hosts of problems associated with dispensaries, particularly in the Bay Area county of Alameda and the city of Oakland, where dispensaries have been burglarized. The report also states that a study of the issue might take longer than 45 days and that moratoriums have been adopted in "numerous other cities." The Police Department would request an extension of the moratorium if officials discover they need more time to study the issue. Only two cities, Rocklin and San Rafael, are noted as having banned dispensaries through city ordinances. An outright ban could be recommended at the end of the study. 
 
 
 
Copyright: 2005: The E.W. Scripps Co.  http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/sv/article/0,1375,VCS_239_3584917,00.html 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 01, 2005 at 08:36:44 PT

Modesto Bee: Marijuana Shop Draws Fire
Council will consider ban on retail outlets selling pot for medical reasons.   
 
 
 By Michael G. Mooney, Bee Staff Writer March 1, 2005Over-the-counter marijuana is being sold in Modesto -- all you need is a California ID and a prescription from a doctor practicing medicine anywhere in the state.
But how long the marijuana store will last is anyone's guess. The City Council is expected a week from today to consider an urgency ordinance banning such marijuana dispensaries.While state law allows marijuana sales for medicinal purposes, federal law does not. In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against marijuana sales by the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative -- but the conflict between state and federal law remains unsettled.Monday, city officials seemed surprised to learn that a marijuana dispensary had opened."We had heard rumors a business was getting ready to open, but we had no name, no exact location," City Attorney Michael Milich said.California voters legalized marijuana for medicinal use in 1996, and guidelines for medical marijuana possession took effect Jan. 1, 2004.California Healthcare Collective Inc., with a business license from the city, began offering marijuana for sale in October at 304A McHenry Ave., just north of Five Points.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.modbee.com/local/story/10045506p-10875667c.html
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on February 27, 2005 at 12:09:26 PT

gee Rnold could be honored too 
wonder what ol Clint Eastwood thinks of the Rep. Farr. I think Clint is from Carmel too.just think of how much a guy like Clint could do for the people if he was so inclined.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 27, 2005 at 09:00:35 PT

Farr To Be Honored by Marijuana Project
February 27, 2005 Local DigestWashington, D.C.The Marijuana Policy Project, a marijuana advocacy group, will honor Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, May 4 in Washington, D.C. 
Farr has led efforts in Congress to protect medical marijuana patients from federal prosecution, including supporting the 2003 States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act.Television talk show host Montel Williams also will be honored at the event. Williams, who uses marijuana to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis, visited Capitol Hill and the New York Legislature to advocate for medical marijuana patients who appeared on his show.A second gala May 9 will recognize actor and comedian Tommy Chong.San Franciscohttp://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/February/27/local/stories/07local.htm

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