GRAND TERRACE TO VOTE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA BAN

The Grand Terrace City Council tonight will consider prohibiting
medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

If the council approves an ordinance, a second reading will be held
in two weeks, and the new law will take effect in 30 days.

City Manager Tom Schwab said Grand Terrace chose not to adopt an
immediate moratorium on the dispensaries upon the advice of City
Attorney John Harper.

"There's no imminent danger to the health and safety of our community
to justify doing that," Schwab said.

Prop. 215 was passed in 1996 to decriminalize the use of marijuana
for medicinal purposes. However, the sale and use of marijuana is
illegal under federal law.

Schwab said he had read some articles on the subject and saw that
other cities were taking proactive measures to ban the medical
marijuana dispensaries.

Upland adopted a moratorium in January 2006 and amended it in
December. Rancho Cucamonga approved an urgency ordinance last week.

Earlier this month, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gloria
Connor Trask ordered the immediate closure of a medical marijuana
dispensary operating in Norco.

Norco said Collective Solutions, which had been operating on Sixth
Street in that city since December, had broken the law by operating
without a license and violated the zoning code.

Indio, Palm Desert and San Jacinto also have banned the dispensaries.

Schwab also said Grand Terrace does not have enough law enforcement
to deal with any potential problems concerning the dispensaries.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Grand Terrace
Civic Center, 22795 Barton Road.