VENTURA TO CONSIDER NONPROFIT MEDICAL POT OUTLETS

The Ventura City Council indicated this week that it's willing to
take a serious look at allowing medical marijuana collectives to
operate legally in the city.

Medical marijuana patients hailed the decision, but top city and
police officials cautioned that pot clubs could pose enforcement and
regulatory challenges and bring increased crime.

After a long discussion and impassioned public input, the City
Council voted unanimously Monday night to enact a yearlong moratorium
on medical pot operations as it studies how to craft language
allowing nonprofit collectives, which typically are operated by
medical marijuana users and focused on patient care.

Pot dispensaries, on the other hand, are often run like for-profit
stores and should not be considered, said Councilman Ed Summers, who
made the motion.

"I really believe there are valid medical uses," said Summers, who
favored a yearlong ban to allow further study despite some people's
concerns that such a ban would send the wrong message.

Los Angeles has been overwhelmed with dispensaries capitalizing on
loopholes because the city "didn't do it right" when it drafted its
rules, Summers said. Ventura's temporary ban, he said, would "start
the clock ticking while the city develops the right rules."

No city or unincorporated area in Ventura County currently allows
medical marijuana operations. Some cities, including Moorpark, Oxnard
and Thousand Oaks, have adopted temporary moratoriums. Camarillo just
extended its ban. Simi Valley enacted a permanent one.

The Oxnard City Council explored allowing dispensaries when it
enacted a moratorium in November 2005 but later backed down because
of unresolved conflicts between state and federal law.

Dozens of medicinal marijuana patients and supporters filled Ventura
City Hall on Monday, urging the council to give them a fair shake.

Although their comments were limited to two minutes, patients shared
stories of how medical pot has helped them cope with pain and lead
productive lives. They complained about how they have to drive to
Santa Barbara, Malibu or the San Fernando Valley to buy their medicine.

Backers, stressing the medical benefits and how legal outlets could
provide a potential financial windfall for the city, urged the
council to show compassion and create a regulated, taxed program for
nonprofit marijuana collectives under Proposition 215, the
Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The act permits patients to legally
use medicinal marijuana in California.

Attorneys who specialize in medical marijuana laws volunteered to
help the city devise rules.

"It can be done, it should be done, it needs to be done," said Duke
Smith, a longtime patient, former Los Angeles pot club operator and
founder of Citizens for Safe Access, an advocacy group.

Although Mayor Christy Weir and Councilman Jim Monahan said they
preferred a permanent ban on any form of pot outlet, both ultimately
supported the moratorium and potential legalization process, which
would have to return to the council for adoption by a majority vote.

Afterward, the mayor said pot clubs would be a "disservice" to the
community and Police Department. "I'm usually in favor of shopping
locally, but these establishments would do more harm than good in our
community," she said.

Council members Brian Brennan, Carl Morehouse and Neal Andrews
disagreed, voicing support for the careful crafting of new
regulations. It was time the city "treat the issue with the dignity
and respect it deserves," said Brennan.

Recent polling shows more than half of Californians support
legalizing and taxing marijuana, and U.S. Attorney General Eric
Holder pledged in March to no longer take action against medical
marijuana dispensaries if they comply with state and local laws.

Ventura City Manager Rick Cole expressed concerns about how the city
would enforce new rules and warned that pot outlets, even ones run by
well-intentioned owners, could cause complaints from neighbors and
increased crime.

Police Chief Pat Miller told the council he didn't have the resources
to regulate or monitor a new program and that other communities have
experienced problems with such clubs. "Any time you have a lot of
money involved, you have a lot of people coming out the woodwork to
make it and take it," he said.

The California Police Chiefs Association has said that marijuana
clubs across the state are little more than fronts for drug dealers.

Prosecutor Gregory Brose of the Ventura County District Attorney's
Office urged the city to develop rules to block dispensaries, which,
he said, were illegal.

Pot patients agreed. Instead, they pointed to the four nonprofit
collectives in Oakland that are operating legally and with city
permits -- and cited a new tax on them supported overwhelmingly last
week by Oakland voters to help the cash-strapped city. They argued
Ventura could charge higher licensing fees to pay for increased city
and police oversight, require on-site security, and mandate that the
clubs be far away from schools and homes.

After the council decision, some patients said they were so
accustomed to rejection that they were unsure whether to believe
Ventura was serious about creating a legal path, particularly with
the mayor's opposition. Others were encouraged, giving each other
high-fives and hugs.

"I hope tonight's vote was a serious and meaningful step to providing
Venturans with lawful and safe access to medical marijuana," said Jay
Leiderman, a local criminal attorney who volunteered his services to
the city. "One year is a long time to freeze an issue and study it,
and I hope all the positives from tonight's meeting don't die a slow
death in bureaucratic committee."

Councilman Andrews, who worked in the healthcare industry for 35
years, said state law encourages local governments to help make
distribution of medical marijuana safe and affordable for seriously
ill patients.

"It's time we take that direction, embrace it and find the right
solution for our community," he said.