MEDICAL CANNABIS ISSUE HAS NOT DISPENSED WITH MORRO BAY

After more than a year of temporarily banning medical marijuana
dispensaries in Morro Bay, city leaders will be faced with the issue
of whether to allow so-called pot shops to operate in the coastal town.

A temporary local law that outlawed new medical marijuana
dispensaries in Morro Bay expired in December.

Since then, several San Luis Obispo County patients have been filling
medical marijuana prescriptions in dispensaries elsewhere, according
to Heather Poet, whose Santa Barbara dispensary serves residents from
San Luis Obispo to Ventura County.

I feel so bad for patients that have to drive so far to get their
medicine," Poet said.

Morro Bay became the center of the debate over medical marijuana
during the case of Charles Lynch, who was convicted in federal court
for running the Morro Bay medical dispensary Central Coast
Compassionate Caregivers last year.

City Attorney Rob Schultz said the City Council has been supportive
of other dispensaries in the area. However, no new policies have been
put forth on how it could handle future shops.

The city has not received any applications for dispensaries, Schultz
said. A Templeton man had visited the city and was asking questions
about the moratorium and the city's policies on dispensaries.

He was just asking some questions," Schultz said. "He is certainly
looking around."