ROSEVILLE STUBS OUT ITS MEDICAL POT LAW

Council Cites Supreme Court Decision On Federal Supremacy.

Taking its cue from the highest court in the nation, the Roseville
City Council terminated a local law Wednesday night that allowed
medical marijuana shops to operate in some parts of town.

"The ruling (by the U.S. Supreme Court) was clear which law
prevails," Councilman Jim Gray said. "We all swore to uphold the laws
of the state of California and the United States of America."

Roseville is the first city in the region to repeal an ordinance
regulating medical marijuana shops after last week's top-court decision.

The court ruled that federal authorities can prosecute pot users in
California - or other states with similar laws - on federal charges,
despite the voter-approved initiative that legalized the use of
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

The only marijuana shop that has operated in Roseville shut down
after a federal raid last fall. The city's legal concern, now that
its regulatory ordinance has been overturned by the council, is that
other pot clubs may try to open with just a standard business license.

"What we do know now is that anyone in possession of marijuana in
California is still subject to prosecution by federal authorities,"
City Attorney Mark Doane said. "Given the state of affairs, it would
be an anomaly to have an ordinance that implicitly allows the
dispersal of marijuana."

Doane added that he'll return to the council soon with a
recommendation to ban pot shops entirely.

But several patient advocates appealed to the council to keep the
ordinance in place.

"To take any act that causes sick, dying and desperate people any
more pain is an outrageous act," Loomis resident Rosemary Roberts
said. "Many cities are watching what happens here tonight. I'm asking
you to fight the good fight. Stand for the rights of the sick
citizens who are depending on your help and your compassion."

Ryan Landers, California director of the American Alliance for
Medical Cannabis, told the council that he depends on marijuana to
control nausea and keep down the handful of pills he has to take for
full-blown AIDs.

"You are not bound tonight to take any action in accordance with
federal laws," Landers said. "What you'll be forcing people to do is
drive to the Bay Area for their medication, or go to illegal street dealers.

"There are no clubs here in Roseville now. Where's the harm in
letting this stand?"

Compassionate Coalition representative Nathan Sands argued that
Roseville is compelled to follow state laws before federal ones, and
said California cities that enacted similar ordinances have not faced
any legal challenges.

"Before you had this ordinance, anybody could open a dispensary
anywhere," Sands said.

Since the court's ruling, officials in other Sacramento area cities
said they'll be taking another look at their pot shop policies.

As more medical marijuana clubs opened dispensaries throughout
California following voter approval in 1996, cities and counties
scrambled to come up with guidelines for them.

In the Sacramento region, Roseville, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights and
Davis opted to regulate medical marijuana shops. Rancho Cordova and
Galt put temporary moratoriums on pot shops while officials, who were
watching the Supreme Court case, tried to craft regulations.

The Placer County cities of Rocklin and Lincoln decided to prohibit
dispensaries entirely.

Roseville passed its ordinance regulating medical marijuana
dispensaries in May 2004, four months after Richard Marino opened
Capitol Compassionate Care with a standard business license.

When other groups began inquiring about opening dispensaries in
Roseville, the council unanimously approved the ordinance that
allowed such shops only in some commercial and industrial areas.

The ordinance also required special permits, limited business hours
and prohibited the use or sale of any drug paraphernalia.

Doane told the council that if the ordinance stayed in place, a new
dispensary could open in Roseville and promptly get shut down by the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

"What we're trying to do is not put you in that situation," he said.

Marino's shop was raided by the DEA last September and no other
dispensaries have opened in Roseville.