HAS VALLEJO GONE TO POT?

An establishment that calls itself a holistic medicinal cooperative
has opened in a North Vallejo strip mall, but customers and
neighboring businesses say the store dispenses medicinal marijuana.

The innocuous store, which bears no sign other than one that says
"Open," and has reflective glass preventing outsiders from peering
inside, has been operating since April, according to city records.

Brian Everett, the man listed as the store's owner on the business
license, said the establishment is a "private members only patients
cooperative" that provides holistic and herbal medicine. He said it
is not a medical marijuana dispensary. Everette said "no comment"
when asked if the store sold marijuana.

City records list the business at 320 Mini Drive as Vallejo Patients
Cooperative.

"We provide herbs and medicinal services to patients who prefer more
natural medicine," Everett told the Times-Herald in a phone
interview. He said the establishment sells items such as herbal
supplements and topical ointments.

Everett said the establishment requires membership and that patients
can join by filling out a questionnaire about what kind of treatment they seek.

He declined to explain why membership is required for a holistic
medicine cooperative.

Everett said he wanted to consult the co-op's board of directors
before answering further inquiries into what types of treatments the
co-op provides, how many patients it serves and if marijuana is an
ingredient in any of its products.

However, numerous follow-up calls and e-mails from the Times-Herald
for answers to these questions went unanswered.

Oscar Barrientos, an armed guard with Seal-Mar private security,
however, said he was hired recently to patrol the Mini Drive Boss
Plaza where what he called a medical marijuana clinic is operating.

Barrientos said the "clinic" is causing no extra problems in the strip mall.

One man contacted outside the establishment said he was a first-time
clinic customer, and said he's happy not to have to travel out of
town to get marijuana.

"It's like going to the market," said the man, who added that the
medical condition he has requiring marijuana treatment has to do with
his appetite. The man would not give his name.

But city officials, asked about the establishment, said they have
neither issued permits for medical marijuana sales, nor received any
applications for such activity.

The 2004 California Senate Bill 420 allows medical marijuana patients
to "collectively or cooperatively" cultivate plants for medical purposes.

If the business is operating a medical marijuana dispensary it would
be the first in Vallejo.

When a reporter visited the business, a man identifying himself as a
co-op member said all required permits and licenses were prominently
displayed inside. But he wouldn't allow the Times-Herald in the store
to see them.

Vallejo Assistant City Attorney Claudia Quintana said there are no
permitted medical marijuana facilities in the city. And patients and
cultivators are not protected from federal prosecution or raids.

Soon after SB 420 passed, local authorities analyzed Vallejo's
municipal code and set up specific guidelines for dealing with the
issue, Quintana said.

"There is a conflict between state and federal law whether it is
legal or not," Quintana said.

Quintana said anyone interested in opening a cannabis co-op must
first explain to her what they want to do and then present a business
plan to her and the Solano County district attorney.

"Not one person who has come to me to talk about opening a medical
marijuana dispensary has followed up for a meeting with me and the
district attorney," Quintana said.

If the district attorney and Quintana OK a business plan the
applicant would then need a city-issued business license.

Vallejo police said the department is aware of the establishment and
are monitoring it.

Police officials said there have been no calls or complaints about
the establishment, or reports of any disturbances or crimes in the
immediate area.

A man who said he works near the storefront, said the clinic's
business is brisk.

"They are so busy," said the man, who also declined to give his name.
"Maybe there's a customer every three minutes. Maybe 60 cars a day,
maybe more."

Joel Rice, owner of Precision Cutz & Stylez barber shop in the plaza,
agreed the place is bustling, but finds that a good thing.

"I've been in the neighborhood 17 years, and this has breathed new
life into this plaza," Rice said. "I've talked to some of the cancer
patients and they find it really beneficial not to have to travel so
far. And it brings business to the other businesses here."

Since California legalized medical marijuana there has been no
state-wide standard for regulating dispensaries and it is up to city
and county officials to decide if they want to allow them and how
they want to regulate them.

Elia Gvozdenovic, chancellor of Oaksterdam University, a new school
in Oakland that teaches students about the cannabis industry, said
the current climate around medical marijuana is similar to when
alcohol prohibition was ending.

"What we are seeing is medical marijuana regulations varying widely
from city to city, kind of like when there were dry counties after
Prohibition," Gvozdenovic said. "Some counties have regulations in
place on what they want to do with it and other counties have put
moratoriums on any opening until they figure it out."

By law anyone can open a medical marijuana co-op, but people that
provide the marijuana to be sold - and those who buy it - must be
state-registered patients or caregivers, Gvozdenovic said.

"State law says it is OK for citizens to come together and dispense
medical marijuana," Gvozdenovic said. He added that in areas not yet
set up to process medical marijuana dispensary applications, co-ops
often obtain business licenses to sell herbal or holistic medicine.

"Technically holistic medicine covers marijuana, but most counties
are coming out with a specific license for it," Gvozdenovic said. "We
recommend to anyone wanting to open a dispensary to work with the
local law as best they can and discourage the mentality of 'the law
has passed, I'm just going to do it no matter what the authorities say.'"

However, in Vallejo the process of opening a medical marijuana
dispensary has been clearly defined, Quintana said. An herbal
medicine business license is not enough, she said.

"Marijuana is illegal under federal law," Quintana said. "It is not
considered holistic medicine, it's drugs and it's illegal."

Gvozdenovic said Oakland's regulations allow four dispensaries to
operate - there once were 12 - if they comply with all city requirements.

"Oakland has specific guidelines that include a license fee that
sends money back to the city and sales tax that sends money to the
state," Gvozdenovic said. "It's kind of like liquor licenses. The
money a city can make from dispensaries is a great incentive for them
to be allowed."

Gvozdenovic said medical marijuana dispensaries could provide a whole
new avenue for revenue for cash-strapped Vallejo.

"There are, of course, regulations like any other business. Zoning
rules specify where they can be, like it must be a certain distance
from a school and the business must be in compliance with electrical
and fire codes," Gvozdenovic said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, marijuana is a
dangerous, addictive drug with no medical value that can't be met
more effectively by legal drugs. The agency also claims, "Drug
legalizers use 'medical marijuana' as a red herring in efforts to
advocate broader legalization of drug use."

Casey McEnry, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
said, "We enforce the Controlled Substance Act and the Supreme
Court's rulings that said no to the medical marijuana argument.
Marijuana has not met the safe and effective test yet."

McEnry referenced two Supreme Court cases, Raiche v. Ashcroft in 2005
and U.S. vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative in 2001.

The court rulings stated those who try to use marijuana as a medical
treatment risk legal action by the U.S. DEA and that marijuana is an
illegal substance with no medical value, respectively.

The DOJ cites a 1999 Institute of Medicine study on marijuana's
potential health benefits that concluded smoked marijuana is not
recommended for the treatment of any disease or condition and that
more effective medications are available.

However, a study released this year by the American College of
Physicians concluded there are numerous potential medical uses for
marijuana and its ability to counteract HIV wasting and
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting have been well documented.

The ACP said more research is needed and supports funding for
scientific evaluation of potential therapeutic benefits.

But the study reports research has been hindered by the debate over
legalization and a complicated federal approval process, limiting the
availability of research-grade marijuana.

Gvozdenovic said the federal government should reexamine its
classification of marijuana as a drug which, like heroin and ecstasy,
has a high tendency for abuse and no medicinal value.

The government classifies Marinol and other prescription pills with
THC, marijuana's active ingredient, as drugs with less abuse
potential and these are currently accepted for medical use.

"The fact that Marinol, which is 100 percent THC is classified level
three and marijuana is 12 to 15 percent THC and classified as a level
one doesn't make any sense," Gvozdenovic said.

Linda Jimenez, secretary and treasurer of the Solano Patients Group,
a local chapter of the Compassionate Coalition which defends medical
marijuana patients' rights, said there are hundreds of medical
marijuana patients in Solano County.

She said she had just heard about a co-op opening in Vallejo but had
not yet visited the establishment.

"There is a great need for medicine in Solano County," Jimenez said.
"Most of the patients in our group are in Fairfield or Vallejo, but
they are in every city in the county."

Jimenez also said a co-op in Vallejo could potentially be a big
source of income for the city.

"People from every end of the county would go to Vallejo to get their
medicine instead of having to travel outside the county. It would
bring a huge amount of revenue to the city." Jimenez said.