POT DISPENSARY TO REMAIN OPEN

Yucca Valley -- The Town Council voted unanimously Thursday night to
put a moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana
dispensaries and the distribution of medical marijuana at existing
businesses in the town. This will grant the Town an initial 45-day
review period in which to form zoning and other land-use policy for
this kind of business.

A health collective that opened about three months ago in the
Monterey Business Center and is dispensing marijuana will be allowed
to continue to do so despite the moratorium.

Deputy Town Manager Shane Stueckle said California Alternative
Medicinal Solutions would not be forced to close as operators had
"conformed to the regulations in place at the time they established
their business and obtained their business registration in the Town."

The business offers Eastern-style medicine, herbal and homeopathic
remedies and "medical cannabis."

Another issue addressed by Stueckle's staff report was the concern of
some citizens that the dispensary was close to the Desert Ballet
Centre and Yucca Valley Karate, two businesses that primarily serve
children. Stueckle found that under California land-use laws, CAMS
has a legal right to operate there.

Speaking to that issue during public comment, CAMS founder D.J. Ross
said location was a big concern when choosing a site, and the
collective's board "considered the most extreme conservative view."

Ross said they picked an industrial business park that was "out of
the way, that you cannot just accidentally drive to. You have to
deliberately have a reason to go there."

Lori Green of Yucca Valley challenged the wisdom of permitting the
dispensary to operate at its current location. She spoke for Desert
Ballet Centre and Yucca Valley Karate, saying its owners have a
problem with CAMS being next door.

With a rising voice, Green decried the company's choice of an
out-of-the-way location, which she called "out of the public eye."
She accused the business of keeping itself quiet from the community,
so that "half of the community doesn't know" it's there.

Speaking as a parent of students who use the facilities, she was
concerned about the safety of the children.

While Green was speaking, some audience members were heard booing and
making rude comments. Newly elected mayor Frank Luckino had to step in.

"Everybody needs to have respect. If you want to boo, we have the
sheriff here who will escort you out," he told the audience. "If you
want to be listened to, you also have to listen."

Speaking in favor of the collective and its supporters was Joseph
Glowitz, Hi-Desert Water District engineer and a member of the
National Institute of Health's Patient Advisory Committee. "There are
diseases and impairments to many folks where traditional Western
medicine and therapies are not effective," he remarked.

Glowitz said he hoped the council wouldn't "play into the fear and
demonize folks," who were looking for alternatives to treat their
pain and illnesses.

Glowitz also applauded the council for their deliberate and
thoughtful approach to the zoning issues involved.

When it came time to vote, the council members had no additional
comments. Chad Mayes, the new mayor pro tem, moved to approve staff
recommendations to declare a moratorium, but chaffed at the
possibility left open in the report that the moratorium could be
extended more than once.

"Let's not use a year," he said, "let's try to resolve this sooner
instead of pushing it off and using excuses to delay."