CALIF. AG: SOME MEDI-POT DISPENSERS MAY BE ILLEGAL

SAN FRANCISCO--Medical marijuana dispensers that operate for-profit
likely violate California law, according to guidelines that may
encourage local police to join a federal crackdown against the enterprises.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown said Monday that formal
cooperatives registered under the state's Food and Agricultural Code
or organized as less formal "collectives" are legal under the law.

But he said anyone running a for-profit storefront dispensary not
operating as either a registered cooperative or collective may be
arrested and prosecuted by local authorities.

About 300 so-called "storefront" dispensaries exist in various
business guises, but there is little agreement on how many of those
operate for-profit.

Brown also suggested that all patients receiving doctors'
recommendations to use marijuana obtain identity cards that each
county is required to issue.

The nonbinding guidelines aimed to clarify California's medical
marijuana law, which has caused varied and confused responses from
local law enforcement but has led to an aggressive federal crackdown
on the dispensaries.

Federal law makes marijuana illegal in all circumstances, and the
U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the state law doesn't shield anyone from
federal prosecution.

Northern California's chief federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Joseph
Russoniello, said federal officials are targeting commercial
traffickers rather than caregivers. He also said he believes 90
percent of the dispensaries run afoul of Brown's guidelines.

Brown advised that each legitimate dispensary can grow six mature or
12 immature plants per qualified patient, each of whom need a
doctor's recommendation to smoke marijuana to ease health ills. Each
dispensary can also have a half-pound of dried marijuana for each
qualified patient.

"We think the vast majority of dispensaries in California will be in
compliance," said Joe Elford, the top lawyer for the marijuana
advocacy group Americans for Safe Access.