COUNTY PASSES MEDICAL POT REGULATIONS

San Mateo County supervisors unanimously passed a slate of regulations
for medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated area despite
last-minute appeals by users and owners to tweak the language
regarding the word "sales" and allow edible products like brownies
on-site.

The Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance 4-1, with Supervisor
Rich Gordon absent. The ordinance includes 21 provisions regulating
the location, security, products allowed and a ban on advertising and
sales of cultivated marijuana on site. Violations are
misdemeanors.

The second reading of an ordinance is typically a formality on the
consent agenda but some of those who voiced concern last week about
the proposed wording returned Tuesday to again seek changes.

The distribution of edibles -- brownies, cookies or other products
containing marijuana -- remained a primary concern by those who said
not all patients want to smoke.

In-home health care worker Cathy Adams said her two patients are over
the age of 70 and don't want to either rely on prescribed medicines or
smoke marijuana in that form.

They "just need to sleep and get rid of the pain," she
said.

At the ordinance's first introduction, County Counsel Mike Murphy said
the regulations do not prevent users from ingesting the marijuana any
way they see fit after they get it home.

Disabled registered nurse Joan Falwell yesterday explained why that
option could prove limiting. The process of infusing butter and oil
with THC is time-consuming -- up to eight hours -- and still puts off an
odor. For those whose pain won't let them wait for the marijuana's
benefits or who worry about stigma from those recognizing the
tell-tale smell, edibles are the way to go, Falwell said.

The process also uses discarded leaves, making it more economical, she
said.

Johnrico Carrnshimba of the Universal Healthcare Cooperative
Corporation in North Fair Oaks -- one of two collectives currently
operating in the unincorporated county -- against asked the supervisors
to hold off on the ordinance until more attention could be paid to the
wording about edibles and sales. Carrnshimba and the others worried
that the word could be at odds with state regulations which require
seller permits and sales tax.