CITIES UNEASY WITH POT SHOPS

But Two Law Officers In Placer County Report Few Problems.

A burly man stands in front of a small house in Colfax and keeps watch
over a nearly empty parking lot. He has one charge: to ward off the
gawkers, the gazers, the dealers, the ill-intended.

With its wraparound porch and small-town location, the quaint building
belies the controversy surrounding the business taking place inside.

This is a medicinal marijuana dispensary, the result of a vague state
law that allows such stores to operate but lacks clear guidelines on
how local officials can regulate them.

The tightly run Golden State Patient Care Collective in Colfax is
hardly the image conjured up by Rocklin officials last month when they
responded to an inquiry about opening a store there.

They considered adopting operating rules similar to those enacted
recently in Roseville, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Auburn, but
ultimately decided in an emergency meeting to prohibit the
dispensaries altogether.

Medical marijuana experts believe Rocklin's action is unprecedented in
California.

City officials said they fear a so-called pot shop would attract crime
and blight and run counter to Rocklin's image as a family-friendly
suburb.

Police Chief Mark Siemens told the City Council members that Roseville
has had problems with its store and discouraged them from allowing one
in Rocklin. He warned that residents might see street dealers
loitering outside, thieves attacking patients leaving the store, and
illegal sales or marijuana use nearby - predictions the Roseville and
Colfax store owners and police say are not coming true.

Siemens acknowledged Proposition 215, passed in 1996, protects from
criminal prosecution patients whose doctors recommend marijuana use.
But Siemens said voters were misled about medicinal marijuana.

"They were kind of hoodwinked into this whole scheme, which is a front
for illegitimate use of illegal drugs," he said.

The council took Siemens' advice, enacting a 45-day emergency
ordinance barring marijuana dispensaries.

The Planning Commission will consider a permanent ordinance at 7:30
p.m. Tuesday. The City Council will revisit the issue July 13.

Medicinal marijuana supporters say the council's action was a hasty
one based on incomplete information. Advocates said they recognize the
potential for illegal activity, but many business operators are
committed to helping patients in safe and legal ways.

For example, the Colfax store, which opened in April, has a clinical
atmosphere. Employees wear medical scrubs. Decorations are few and
only loosely reflect the nature of the business, like the artistic
marijuana leaf prints framed above the door.

Admission procedures are strict. The store and parking lot are
monitored by cameras and a security guard.

"There have been no problems, no reports of crime," Placer County
Undersheriff Steve D'Arcy said of the store. "It's been very quiet."

In Roseville, a marijuana dispensary called Capital Compassionate Care
opened in January. Roseville Police Capt. Dave Braafladt said the
store has prompted some calls but "nothing of major
significance."

Two calls resulted in a written report, one related to narcotics and
another to fraud, he said. Neither led to an arrest, though one
investigation is pending.

"It's obviously drawn attention," Braafladt said of the store in
historic Roseville. "Is it anything way out of whack? No. Is it more
than just a bicycle shop? Yes."

The Colfax and Roseville stores are the only ones in the Sacramento
area, although many cities have reported inquires from potential
dispensaries.

Marijuana stores are more prevalent in the Bay Area. Hayward, for
example, has two dispensaries.

Hayward Police Lt. Larry Bird said some dealers have congregated
outside the stores and some buyers have been hit by thieves. But the
department has not compiled any definitive crime statistics, he said.

Hayward Mayor Roberta Cooper said that although the City Council
supports the shop owners' goal of helping people and recognizes few
serious problems have arisen, officials have decided not to allow the
shops to operate after 2006.

She said the conflict between state law and federal law, which says
any sale or use of marijuana is illegal, puts cities in an awkward
position.

In Roseville, officials also are uncomfortable with a store in their
city. Mayor F.C. "Rocky" Rockholm said in an interview that he would
like to see his town's marijuana dispensary "go away, but it's not
going to."

Store owner Richard Marino said the opposition is unfounded. In seven
months in business, he has served almost 2,000 patients and called
police twice - to chase away some loitering dealers he said never
returned and to deal with someone who submitted a false doctor's
recommendation.

"I don't think (dispensaries) bring crime, because we haven't had any
crime," Marino said.

Jim Henry, co-owner of the Colfax store, said he also feels frustrated
by assumptions about pot shops. He said that when word of his store
got out, some teenagers stopped by thinking they could score marijuana.

"This is for sick people," he told them. They have not returned.