MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVISTS REQUEST ACCESS IN FRESNO

Medical marijuana activists are cranking up the pressure in their
fight to be able to supply the drug in Fresno.

A former paralegal from Visalia is trying to open a dispensary in the
Tower District. Another group is working to create a cooperative where
members could supply each other with cannabis.

[photos]

Standing in their way is a restrictive city ordinance -- and several
skeptical City Council members. Medical marijuana activists request
access in Fresno MARK CROSSE / THE FRESNO BEE

Rick Morse, a paralegal who sought to open a medical marijuana
dispensary in the Tower District, speaks Tuesday to the Frseno City
Council. Medical marijuana activists request access in Fresno MARK
CROSSE / THE FRESNO BEE

Left to right, Diana Kirby, Sharon Bobbitt, Dana Bobbitt and Carrie
Dilbeck talk Tuesday about opening a medical marijuana dispensary in
Fresno. Medical marijuana activists request access in Fresno MARK
CROSSE / THE FRESNO BEE

Fresno City Council President Cynthia Sterling listens as
medical-marijuana advocate Rick Morse speaks to the council on
Tuesday.

"If it's that important, maybe they should move to San Francisco,"
said newly seated Council Member Lee Brand.

Currently, there are no medical marijuana dispensaries or official
cooperatives anywhere in Fresno County.

Last year, supporters celebrated when Fresno County became the 41st in
the state to participate in California's Medical Marijuana Program
registry. That allowed people to get an identification card in Fresno
County so they can prove to police that they have a doctor's
prescription.

"There's clearly a need," said Dr. Terry Brown, who has a Tower
District office. More than 2,500 patients rely on him for medical
marijuana prescriptions, he said.

But the closest dispensaries or cooperatives are in Tulare
County.

The city's current ordinance regarding medical marijuana businesses
states they must comply with both state and federal laws. At this
point, federal law views the drug -- even when used for medical
purposes -- as illegal.

In 1996, however, California enacted the Compassionate Use Act, which
allows patients and caregivers to possess or grow marijuana if a
doctor has recommended it for medical use.

Fresno originally enacted an ordinance in 2004 that banned medical
marijuana dispensaries that served three or more patients. The
following year, Shaver Lake attorney William McPike and Americans for
Safe Access, an Oakland-based group that advocates for medical
marijuana, filed a lawsuit over the ordinance.

The council then enacted the current ordinance, which advocates
consider a de facto ban.

Until the state and federal laws are consistent, no medical marijuana
operation can meet the requirements of the city's ordinance, said City
Attorney Jim Sanchez.

"That keeps us out of this argument," he said.

At this point, not even those seeking to distribute medical marijuana
in Fresno can agree on a strategy.

Rick Morse is the paralegal who sought to open a dispensary at 210 E.
Olive Ave. in the Tower District. He said he became a user and
medical-marijuana advocate after he suffered nerve-damage
complications from surgery. He briefly opened his business -- known as
the Medmar Clinic -- last month, but it closed after two days when
police told him he hadn't met all city requirements.

On Tuesday, Morse pleaded his case to the Fresno City Council, saying
he has a city-approved business license and that was all he needed to
open the shop.

"There wasn't anything sneaky about us doing this," he said in an
interview outside the council chambers.

But countering Morse were members of the local chapter of Americans
for Safe Access. They propose a collective that has registered
members, as opposed to a storefront operation like Morse.

Group members said Morse has hurt their cause by moving ahead with his
proposal while they still are working to get the city ordinance changed.

"It just upset us that he jumped the gun," said Fresno resident Diana
Kirby, a disabled woman who supports opening a medical marijuana
cooperative.

It's unclear where either party goes from here.

Neither group was on the official council agenda. Instead, they spoke
during the open communication period of the meeting. The council took
no action and made no comments after they spoke.

City officials say Morse's problems aren't even about medical
marijuana at this point. Before the issue of complying with city
ordinances is addressed, officials say Morse still must take steps
that apply to anybody opening a business, including preparing a site
plan.

As for those supporting a cooperative, they vowed Tuesday to come to
every council meeting until there is a change in the ordinance.

"The city can't enforce federal law," said Dana Bobbitt, an activist
and disabled former iron worker. "The authorities have no authority to
enforce federal law."

But council members don't seem eager to change the
ordinance.

"We have so many problems in the city," Brand said. "I'd put medical
marijuana at the bottom of the list. We have an existing ordinance
that clearly prohibits it, and there are clearly more pressing matters."

Fellow Council Member Mike Dages said activists need to take up the
issue with Congress. "It's out of our hands," he said. "They're
yelling at the wrong people."

Dages said his father was a pharmacist who would "roll over in his
grave if I voted for something that is illegal."

And Sanchez, the Fresno city attorney, indicated that Fresno would
prefer to stay out of the medical marijuana debate.

"We reviewed laws over the last year and a half," he said. "We will
not allow our local jurisdiction to be enmeshed in a state-federal
disagreement."