ATASCADERO EYES BAN ON CANNABIS CLUBS

ATASCADERO -- Seeking to prevent the opening of unwanted businesses in
Atascadero, City Council Tuesday will consider temporarily banning
medical marijuana clubs.

City Manager Wade McKinney said the ordinance would ban the clubs for
up to nine months, giving Atascadero enough time to study how other
cities have dealt with the controversial establishments.

McKinney said the ordinance was prompted by events that took place in
1996, when the city was caught off guard by the opening of an adult
bookstore.

He said the city couldn't prevent the bookstore from opening because
Atascadero didn't have any laws at the time regulating adult businesses.

McKinney said the city wants to prevent a similar occurrence with
medical marijuana clubs, which were allowed under Proposition 215
approved by voters in 1996.

"We're trying not to have (medical) dispensaries until we know what
the community wants to do," he said.

If approved, City Attorney Roy Hanley said the ordinance would go into
effect immediately.

Hanley said the ban would give the city time to develop a plan on how
to regulate a cannabis club in Atascadero. Currently, there are no
laws regarding marijuana clubs in the city.

Police chief Dennis Hegwood said there need to be controls on the
clubs to ensure the public's safety.

"It's an issue that needs to be addressed and we need to be
proactive," Hegwood said.

There are no marijuana clubs currently operating in San Luis Obispo
County.

But Ellen Komp, board member of the California chapter of National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said she's glad the
Central Coast is addressing the issue of medical marijuana because
patients are having difficulty understanding their rights and
obtaining their medicine.

But Komp believes the city can streamline the process by simply
enacting zoning regulations.

"The problem with the ordinance is while it protects Atascadero
against commercial operations that might not be acting in the best
interests of patients and the community, it doesn't offer patients a
means of exercising their rights," she said.

She would like to see the county health department, law enforcement,
patients and caregivers get together to meet the need of marijuana
patients.

Atascadero is examining laws in Oakland, Palo Alto and San Jose to see
how those cities have regulated cannabis clubs.

The San Jose Police Department adopted a policy last year regarding
the implementation of Proposition 215, and Atascadero's ordinance may
mirror San Jose's law.

San Jose's regulations include zoning restrictions as well as rules
adopted by the police chief which address record keeping,
identification of patients and storage of the marijuana.

State voters approved the medical marijuana initiative two years ago.
It allows patients the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical
purposes when deemed appropriate by a physician, without fear of

prosecution.

The focus of the initiative was for marijuana to provide relief for
patients who have cancer, anorexia, AIDS, glaucoma, arthritis and
other painful illnesses.

Recently, the state Supreme Court upheld a ruling that cannabis clubs
could not be defined as a patient's "primary caregiver" because a
primary caregiver is defined as a nurse or spouse that has assumed
responsibility for the health and safety of the patient.

Deputy District Attorney Dennis Schloss said the appeal courts were
very clear that Proposition 215 did not allow for cultivation, sale or
transportation of marijuana -- only possession.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady