LA MIRADA TO BAN POT CLINICS

City Council Expected to OK Urgency Statute

LA MIRADA - The City Council is expected to adopt an urgency
ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries at its Tuesday meeting.

It would go into effect immediately.

La Mirada would be the 64th city in the state to ban such
establishments. It adopted a moratorium or temporary ban in April
2006, but it will expire April 24 and can't be extended.

In this area, La Habra and Pico Rivera both have moratoriums on
dispensaries. Whittier has an ordinance that limits where they can be open.

Mayor Hal Malkin said La Mirada needs to ban the dispensaries in
order to avoid getting involved in a fight between the state and
federal government.

Medical marijuana dispensaries have been legal under state law since
1996, when California voters passed Proposition 215, which allows
marijuana to be used for medical purposes.

"The problem is that the federal government says (medical marijuana)
is outright illegal," Malkin said.

"We've got the feds saying one thing and the state saying another. We
don't want to be involved in this. When it's settled we can determine
what we want to do," he said.

Malkin said the city ban has nothing to do with whether medical
marijuana is good or bad.

"The issue was us becoming litigants because someone builds here and
they say they have permission from the state," he said.

But medical marijuana proponents criticize the pending ban.

Bill Britt, executive director of Long Beach-based Patient Advocates,
called it "uncompassionate."

Kris Hermes, spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, also was critical.

"It's sort of a knee-jerk reaction to make bans as a policy and not
recognize the need of patients, who can't grow (marijuana) and rely
on these facilities," Hermes said.

Ruben Arceo, director of community development, also said a ban is
needed because dispensaries can have negative effects.

"Various public agencies throughout California have reported adverse
and dangerous secondary effects," Arceo stated in a staff report.

"These include, but are not limited to, crimes committed against
persons leaving the vicinity of dispensaries, illegal drug activity,
persons driving vehicles under the influence of controlled substances
obtained from dispensaries and sale of marijuana to non-qualified
persons," he stated.

Dale Gieringer, director of the California National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said allegations that these businesses
attract crime are untrue.

"A lot of places have regulations like the city of Oakland and
they've had no problem whatsoever," Gieringer said.