LOCAL POT LAWS 'ILLEGAL'

While I agree with the sentiment of your editorial, "Medical pot clubs
deserve fair and public debate," I do not agree that there needs to be
any debate. That debate already occurred when Proposition 215 was passed.

State law says that pot clubs are legal. Local laws cannot say
otherwise. That is a fundamental premise of our legal system.

Localities like Novato and Sausalito, which have passed ordinances
which prohibit business that violate state or federal law, are trying
to do an end-run around Proposition 215. In my view (as an attorney),
their conduct is patently illegal.

If federal officials choose not to enforce particular federal laws, it
is not the business of localities to ignore that choice in order to
defeat a state law that they disagree with. They are essentially
turning themselves into federal officials in order to undermine their
own superiors in the legal hierarchy.

In fact, the California Court of Appeals has already ruled that cities
like San Diego, which did not want to issue ID cards for medical
marijuana users, must follow state law and cannot hide behind federal
law.

Novato and Sausalito should respect that court ruling and work with
pot clubs, as Fairfax has.

David L. Fiol, Novato