cannabisnews.com: How Towns Sort Out Medical Marijuana Facilities function share_this(num) { tit=encodeURIComponent('How Towns Sort Out Medical Marijuana Facilities'); url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/25/thread25764.shtml'); site = new Array(5); site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit; site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit; window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500'); return false; } How Towns Sort Out Medical Marijuana Facilities Posted by CN Staff on June 22, 2010 at 04:22:13 PT By Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle California -- Mention medicinal marijuana dispensaries and people tend to think of either the giant operations in Oakland or the hippie-tinged forests of the Emerald Triangle up north.But sprayed throughout the state, in little towns where you wouldn't expect such a thing, are hundreds of cannabis dispensaries that have a special challenge. In burgs like Galt in the Sacramento Valley, where cowboys and Republicans rule the zeitgeist, and even in the tie-dyed Sonoma County enclave of Sebastopol, dispensary operators have to work extra hard to make the neighbors feel comfortable with their businesses - because in towns that small, everybody knows everyone and attitudes are worn on everyone's sleeves.Sometimes, as in Sebastopol, this works well. Sometimes, as in Galt, it's not so smooth.Both experiences offer valuable glimpses into what may be in store in November if the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act initiative on the statewide ballot passes and legalizes recreational marijuana use for the first time in the United States. Confusing Territory Those on the front lines of the small-town dispensary scene say anyone planning to sell pot should be prepared to bend over backward to meet local regulations and otherwise make nice with officials and neighbors. But sellers should also understand that in some places, there will be resistance no matter what.It's confusing territory, by definition. The 1996 state law authorizing medicinal marijuana doesn't specify whether cities and counties can ban or even regulate local use, so it has been left to cities and counties to come up with their own playbooks.To date, 141 cities and counties in California have banned marijuana dispensaries, and 41 cities and counties have passed laws regulating them, according to Americans for Safe Access, an advocate for medical marijuana providers. The other 354 cities and counties have either not addressed the situation or passed simple moratoriums capping the number of dispensaries at existing levels.There's little doubt where the sentiments lie in Sebastopol. Peaceful Pot Peddlers "It's absolutely essential that local jurisdictions have control over the dispensaries, and that they make sure they are working well with their neighborhoods," said Sebastopol City Councilman Larry Robinson.Exhibit A, he said: the Peace in Medicine Healing Center, the only dispensary in his town of 7,700 people. The collective opened in 2007 in a former Ford car dealership building. Before the first bud hit the counter, its managers made sure to knock on the doors of every neighbor in sight.Executive Director Robert Jacob met with the police chief and other community leaders to make sure the center would be following city laws requiring that dispensaries provide their own security and verify that patients are eligible for medical marijuana.Today, most people wouldn't know from the snappy, earth-toned exterior of Peace in Medicine that 3,800 medicinal cannabis users come in for everything from marijuana to pain-controlling acupuncture treatments and massages. From the road, it looks more like a high-end insurance office - with a smiling security guard unobtrusively posted at the door, and others posted less visibly around the complex. Snipped Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/nYkSN9chSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: June 22, 2010Copyright: 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #19 posted by FoM on June 26, 2010 at 04:10:53 PT More News From The LA Times Police Look for Links in Pot-Shop KillingsJune 26, 2010URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-slayings-20100626,0,5353391.story [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 25, 2010 at 20:28:11 PT Hope It's sad it happens. I don't know why it only seems to happen around dispensaries. I don't hear of it outside of these situations. I don't know if it is a vendetta, wanting to snatch up pot to sell maybe for other drugs, or the volumes of money dispensaries seem to make. I hope the price drops so low robbery won't be worth it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by Hope on June 25, 2010 at 19:52:22 PT I hate that anyone was killed... but I also can't help but worry that it might be someone we know... someone that posts here.It's just ridiculous that this travesty of prohibition is still going on and on and on.It's disgusting.Sickening. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on June 25, 2010 at 15:13:48 PT Hope One name is mentioned in this article.http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100625/APA/1006251308 [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Hope on June 25, 2010 at 15:06:17 PT Man killed. Any names yet? [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on June 25, 2010 at 13:43:36 PT Hope Because they keep the price jacked up in California at this point instead of passing the savings on to consumers of medical marijuana since there are so many growers. That's only California I am talking about since that is where the murders happened. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Hope on June 25, 2010 at 12:23:49 PT What caused that inflated price situation? "People only kill over pot because of the inflated prices."People seldom have a shootout over a bushel of tomatoes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on June 25, 2010 at 10:15:01 PT Hope People only kill over pot because of the inflated prices. If it was equal with vegetables it just wouldn't happen. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Hope on June 25, 2010 at 09:38:40 PT Why would anyone kill anyone over pot? Oh, that's right.PROHIBITION!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Had Enough on June 24, 2010 at 21:13:36 PT Cops More L.A. sheriff deputies get drunk, some even on duty: report 13:01, June 23, 2010 More Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies get drunk this year, some even get soaked while on duty, a report released by the Sheriff's Department on Tuesday finds.Thirty-three alcohol-related incidents took place since January, more than all of last year, including several cases in which deputies were found drunk on duty, the Office of Independent Review said, highlighting the department's struggles with employees who drink on the job or whose drunkenness results in problems off the job.Sheriff Lee Baca acknowledged Tuesday that the report shows the ineffectiveness of recent department efforts to crack down on drinking. He vowed to come down harder on the issue, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website.and...The report gives several incidents where deputies get drunk on duty on off duty. As Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies evacuated residents during last year's Station fire, a trainee with the department noticed one of her superiors acting strangely. The deputy was stumbling, then he fell over. He later admitted he was drinking vodka concealed in a Gatorade bottle during the deadly blaze.and...An off-duty deputy was arrested for drinking and driving with her children in the car, and was arrested again months later for another DUI (driving under the influence). She was arrested for a third time for negligently shooting her gun while off duty and under the influence of alcohol, according to the report.Last month, Deputy Randy Barragan, 25, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly fired a revolver in the air on Redondo Beach pier after drinking at nearby restaurants, the report said. The whole thing found here...http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7036732.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on June 24, 2010 at 19:47:34 PT Police Say Man Killed in LA Pot Dispensary June 24, 2010URL: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/06/24/1322598/police-say-man-killed-in-la-pot.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by ekim on June 24, 2010 at 19:10:16 PT second the Denver story Dunn and Mignola donated a Hemp bulletproof jacket to Captian Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Hope on June 23, 2010 at 13:55:54 PT Comment 6 I like that. That's spirit. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 23, 2010 at 11:30:02 PT News From The LA Times Blog More Than 170 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Notify Los Angeles of Intent To Stay OpenJune 23, 2010 URL: http://drugsense.org/url/reNWyUU3 [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by afterburner on June 23, 2010 at 04:15:41 PT Different Smokes CN ON: PUB LTE: Marijuana Clinic Raids Are A Cause For Concern, Guelph Mercury, (22 Jun 2010) Eitan Gallant http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v10/n474/a07.html?176"Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're [our] only hope." [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Canis420 on June 22, 2010 at 21:31:07 PT: this article Opening near a school or sellin meth...cmon...I dont buy it! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 22, 2010 at 14:31:07 PT Dankhank I hope you are having a nice time in Denver. I always was fascinated by Colorado. I love mountains and rivers and snow and all the great things Denver and all of Colorado has to offer. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dankhank on June 22, 2010 at 13:44:14 PT Denver Great Story, FoM I've been in Denver for a week, and it's an amazing place, these days.I'd move here if I could ...peace ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 22, 2010 at 09:35:39 PT Hemp Kingpin Ditches Amsterdam for Denver June 22, 2010URL: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/22/smallbusiness/hemp_empire/index.htm [ Post Comment ] Post Comment