FEDS: NO MORE RAIDS ON POT DISPENSARIES

The operators of medical marijuana dispensaries in Riverside County
were elated today with the news that federal authorities will no
longer be raiding their outlets, but they must still be concerned
about local efforts to regulate them. Advertisement

During his campaign for president, Barack Obama had promised to end
the federal raids.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
made good on that promise, saying, "What the president said during
the campaign ... is now American policy" in regards to stopping raids
by the Drug Enforcement Administration on pot dispensaries in states
where medical marijuana is legal.

Proposition 215, approved by California voters in 1996, made it legal
to sell marijuana to people who have a doctor's prescription, and
since then hundreds of dispensaries have sprung up throughout the state.

But marijuana is still illegal under federal law, and before the
attorney general's announcement, DEA agents had raided many of the
dispensaries throughout Southern California.

"It's truly a blessing for all of the patients," said Stacy
Hochanadel, owner of CannaHelp on Industrial Place. "It gives us the
ability to do things in a proper fashion."

Hochanadel said he's been waiting nearly 13 years for the day when he
no longer had to fear a DEA raid.

"We're not trying to hide," Hochanadel said. "We're not trying to
conceal ourselves from a possible DEA raid."

However, local officials are still trying to restrict the dispensaries.

On Feb. 18, the Palm Springs City Council gave initial approval to a
proposed ordinance that would limit the number of medical marijuana
dispensaries to two, and only let them operate in industrial zones.

If the measure receives final approval March 4, as is expected, Palm
Springs would be the first city in Riverside County to officially
allow medical marijuana dispensaries.

Douglas Holland, the city's attorney, said today that while the two
cooperatives that are approved by the city will be safe from local
law enforcement, unapproved dispensaries will not be.

"As long as (the two approved cooperatives) are operating legally,
they won't have to worry about federal intervention," Holland said.
"That's going to provide a certain level of security and comfort to
the residents of Palm Springs."

But he said as many as seven dispensaries are operating illegally
within the city, including CannaHelp.

Holland said he is working to file civil complaints against the
dispensaries to shut them down until the proposed regulations go into effect.

"They do not have any legal authority to operate in the city ... at
all," Holland said. He believes most of them are working as "pseudo
pharmacies."

"Anyone can come in and become a loose member ... and can acquire
marijuana from those facilities," Holland said.

Hochanadel said he is in compliance with California law and is in the
correct zone to operate once the city ordinance is adopted. He said
he hopes CannaHelp will be one of the two collectives selected by the
City Council.

"I'm the only one in full compliance," Hochanadel said. "I have a
growing collective."

He said he joined with the California-based group Americans for Safe
Access after Obama took office to make sure he delivered on his
campaign promise to end the raids by calling lawmakers and the White House.

Americans for Safe Access, which promotes legal access to marijuana
for therapeutic use and research, called Holder's comments "the
latest sign of a sea change" in federal policy toward states with
medical cannabis laws.

"There has been a lot of collateral damage in the federal campaign
against medical marijuana patients," said Steph Sherer, executive
director of Americans for Safe Access.

"We need to stop the prosecutions, bring the prisoners home and begin
working to eliminate the conflict between state and federal medical
marijuana laws."

Hochanadel said the change in policy has given him more peace of mind.

"We don't have to be in fear of persecution for things we believed in
and know worked for us," he said, adding that he was worked hard to
cooperate with the City Council.

Under the proposed ordinance, cooperatives and collectives would not
be allowed within 1,000 feet of each other or within 500 feet of
schools, public parks, playgrounds, churches, youth centers or
residential areas.

The dispensaries would also have to operate within specific
industrial zones within Palm Springs.

Other provisions state that the dispensaries must be set up as
nonprofit collectives or cooperatives, as recommended in the
guidelines issued by California Attorney General Jerry Brown in August.