SAN BERNARDINO BANS MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

San Bernardino became the latest Inland city to ban medical marijuana
dispensaries late Monday.

City Council members voted unanimously, with Dennis Baxter and Rikke
Van Johnson absent, in favor of a ban, Deputy City Clerk Linda
Sutherland said.

California voters decriminalized medical marijuana in 1996, but San
Bernardino and San Diego counties filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn
the decision. The counties declined to issue permits until after the
U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal earlier this year.

San Bernardino County has begun issuing medical marijuana
identification cards but has a moratorium in place on new dispensaries
in unincorporated areas.

Several Inland cities, most recently Yucaipa on Sept. 14, have
outlawed dispensaries.

San Bernardino had imposed a temporary moratorium in March 2007 and
extended it twice, most recently in February 2008, a staff report shows.

The report notes that California's decriminalization conflicts with
federal law. Studies by other cities show dispensaries contribute to
increases in noise, traffic, burglaries and robberies, the report states.

During the public comment section of the meeting, Jay Lindberg warned
that denying dispensaries permission to open could mean refusing
seriously ill people medicine authorized under California law.
Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said her grown daughter has frequently
told her how easy it can be to obtain a false prescription.