MORENO VALLEY COUNCIL TO WEIGH BANNING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

Medical marijuana dispensaries could be permanently banned in Moreno
Valley tonight.

The City Council is expected to consider using an urgency declaration
to prohibit opening the businesses within Moreno Valley. City
Attorney Bob Herrick said he is recommending the ban primarily
because of the problems associated with such dispensaries.

A California Police Chiefs Association report found that robberies,
assaults and burglaries involving marijuana and large amounts of cash
do occur at such dispensaries. The exact frequency is difficult to
determine because of underreporting and the lack of a category for
crimes related to the dispensaries.

A secondary reason, Herrick said, is that marijuana use is still
illegal under federal law.

California voters in 1996 approved Prop. 215, which allowed
individuals to obtain marijuana for medical purposes when approved by
a physician. The state Legislature in 2003 approved Senate Bill 420,
which provided additional legal guidance to medical marijuana users
and led to dispensaries opening around California.

City Planning Official John Terell said no medical marijuana
dispensaries are operating with city approval in Moreno Valley.

"Other than a few preliminary inquiries, no one has pursued it," he
said by phone.

The inquiries occurred after SB 420 was approved, but they didn't go
beyond the front counter at City Hall, Terell said.

He said he was unaware of any operating illegally within the city, either.

The proposal to ban dispensaries is modeled after a similar ordinance
in Anaheim. The law there is being challenged in court, but the judge
has allowed the ban to continue until the matter is resolved,
according to a staff report prepared by Herrick.

In February 2006, the Moreno Valley City Council imposed a moratorium
that prevents the city from approving any dispensaries within the
city until a permanent policy is created, Herrick said. But the
moratorium can last two years at most under state law, he said, and
it expires today.

The regular lawmaking process requires the council to approve a
proposed law twice at separate meetings. The law would then take
effect 30 days after the second vote.

But the council is being asked to approve the proposed law as a
matter of urgency to preserve public safety, health and peace.

If approved with that declaration, the law would take effect
immediately, avoiding any lapse between the moratorium and a permanent ban.

An urgency ordinance, however, would require "yes" votes from four of
the five council members, rather than a simple majority of three.