TULARE COUNTY HALTS NEW POT OUTLETS

45-Day Moratorium to Allow Study of Limits on Medical Marijuana Sites.

VISALIA -- The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to
place a 45-day moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries.

County officials have expressed concern over the number of
dispensaries that have sprouted in Tulare County during the past year.

Part of that uncertainty is the relatively low number of people who
have gotten medical marijuana user cards: 21.

Tuesday's vote does not affect the six dispensaries already operating
in unincorporated communities.

The latest dispensary opened Monday in Tipton, and other possible
operators have expressed interest in opening more, said county
planner Jason LoBue.

Neighboring Fresno and Kings counties do not allow medical marijuana
dispensaries, said Rick Morse, president of the Tulare County chapter
of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group.

The temporary ban will allow county staff to study the issue before a
Feb. 12 hearing where supervisors may consider capping the number of
dispensaries.

Supervisors also are expected to consider making dispensaries apply
for special licenses to operate -- a move welcomed by local medical
marijuana activists.

"We don't need [dispensaries] to go up that fast," Morse said. "We're
just working to make everyone comfortable."

But Morse said he is reluctant to endorse a cap because that would
give existing dispensaries a monopoly.

Jeff Nunes, who operates the nonprofit Visalia Compassionate
Caregivers, said he has been working with the county for years to
find a legitimate way to provide patients a safe place to get medical
marijuana.

"We're trying to do it the right way," he said.

But unlike Morse, Nunes said he doesn't oppose the idea of a cap
because Tulare County doesn't need to become a "red-light district."

Medical marijuana use is protected under Proposition 215, approved by
California voters in 1996.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

County officials approved an ordinance last year creating a
1,000-foot buffer between dispensaries and sensitive areas such as
schools, parks and day-care centers.

At least one of the current facilities violates that ordinance.

A dispensary that opened in Goshen recently was cited for being
within 1,000 feet of Goshen Elementary School, said Bruce Kendall,
the county's code compliance manager.

Kendall said he will wait to see what the Board of Supervisors
decides next month before taking action against the dispensary.

County officials also say the number of dispensaries is excessive
because of the fewer than two dozen medical marijuana users who have
obtained county-issued Medical Marijuana Program identification cards.

But Morse said there are an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 medical
marijuana patients using the county's dispensaries.

Many patients didn't get cards because they are not needed to obtain
medical marijuana. The cards are only needed to identify users if
stopped by police.

Another reason is the cost of a card, which is several hundred dollars.

The dispensaries saw a large increase in clientele after federal
agents shut down Kern County facilities last year, Morse said.

Without Tulare County dispensaries, local patients would have to
travel to areas such as Alameda or Los Angeles counties for
legitimate medical marijuana, Nunes said.

County spokesman Eric Coyne said he doesn't know how Tulare County
became the only county in this region with multiple medical marijuana outposts.

"It's not like we rushed forward to be the first on the block with a
medical marijuana policy."