SUPERVISORS HEAR PLEA FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

OROVILLE — Butte County's supervisors have been asked to give serious
consideration to a topic that rarely reaches their agenda — marijuana.

Tuesday, during a section of the Board of Supervisors' agenda that
allows people to bring things before the panel, but prohibits the
supervisors to take any action or even to comment, a small group asked
that the county establish regulations for marijuana
dispensaries.

Rick Tognoli, who said he owns a trucking and grading business and is
the head of the "SOS Cannabis Collective," urged the supervisors to
adopt rules that would allow for places where people with the
appropriate Proposition 215 medical marijuana cards could purchase
their "medicine."

Tognoli said he would like to see a way to open some of these sales
locations in places that comply with laws that prohibit them within
specified distances from churches, schools and playgrounds.

Explaining he is 45 years old and suffers from degenerative spinal
disks, Tognoli said he has to go to Sacramento to legally purchase his
medicine.

He said if the county established the regulations for such operations,
it could also create taxing rules for cannabis transactions.

Charles Porter, who went before the supervisors in a wheelchair,
explained he too has degenerative disk problems. He outlined a list of
heavy prescription pain medications he has to take for the condition,
but said, since he doesn't drive, he has to take a bus to Sacramento
to purchase cannabis. Porter told the board the bus trip costs more
than the marijuana.

George Menas, who regularly attends supervisors' meeting as an
observer, got up to speak Tuesday.

While he said that he "hates the stuff" and never "imbibes," and that
he thinks the idea of storefront cannabis dispensaries are a "dumb way
to go," he told the board he would encourage them to find ways to
legally allow hospitals or pharmacies to sell marijuana to those with
medical recommendations.

While the board, following the law, neither discussed nor acted on the
proposal, Tognoli said if the supervisors put the item on the formal
agenda at some future date he would be happy to provide them
additional information.