NAMES PUT HOLD ON DANA POINT POT RULING

Judge Set to Possibly Rule Nov. 2

It all came down to the names at a court ruling held to decide whether
Dana Point can force five medical marijuana dispensaries to hand over
their business records as part of a city investigation to figure out
if the city will change zoning laws to officially allow the facilities.

An Orange County Superior Court Judge said today she was not going to
rule on the issue until after the city and the dispensaries ironed out
the name game, which balances medical privacy protections and the
city's attempt to figure out if the dispensaries are operating legally
before changing any laws.

The facilities' attorneys pulled the privacy card in court and said
they don't want any client names released when they hand over records
to the city.

But that's no good, said Patrick Munoz, the city's attorney, who said
he is willing to draft a protective order that limits who would have
access to the names during the investigation.

"Without the names, we don't know who to talk to" to check if what the
businesses have listed in their financial records is true, Munoz said.

"That's complete nonsense," Jacek Lentz, attorney for Capistrano Beach
dispensary Beach Cities Collective. The city would not be able to
compare individual transactions because "no one keeps those records."
Financials kept are broader accounts of gross sales, he said.

Judge Glenda Sanders said that both sides must decide whether they
agree to a protective order by Nov. 2. If they don't come to a
settlement amongst themselves, she will make a ruling, she said. It's
not likely they will agree, though, since all the dispensaries'
attorneys said they objected to a protective order in court.

The city filed subpoenas for the records in July after another
organization asked it to amend zoning laws to permit dispensaries.
Current laws do not specifically prohibit dispensaries, but that does
not mean the dispensaries are automatically permitted.

"These are supposed to be non-profits. We want to make sure they're
not making money hand over fist and not doing it differently than a
gang member selling back behind a car," Munoz said.

But Alison Adams, attorney for a dispensary called Holistic Health,
said she was concerned that the city would turn around and use the
names in order to prosecute future cases against individuals.

Sanders said any decisions regarding the records in this case should
be used for legislative purposes only. But that does not prevent the
city from filing other subpoenas in the future in order to question
someone they pinpoint from the client lists.

"I am now horrified that (Munoz) may attempt to use this information
to put a frontal attack on medical marijuana," Adams said during court
proceedings. "Producing any names is...overboard."

Munoz doesn't think so. Palm Springs recently adopted an ordinance
allowing for medical marijuana dispensaries to operate there, but they
require the cooperatives to provide detailed financial records and to
hand over the names and contact information of employees, managers and
property owners. .

"We're not looking to go harass people who are dying from cancer and
want to smoke," Munoz said.

But, he said, "If we adopt an ordinance, we're going to be asking for
names. The names are going to be out there."

Sanders said if she decides that the dispensaries must turn over
names, she would give the facilities 30 days to produce the records.
This is the second time Sanders has postponed her ruling on the case.
Attorneys on both sides said Sanders is being especially cautious
because of the privacy issue.

Another wrinkle is that these facilities are cooperatives, which means
they are a type of business that must keep a list of their business
partners, in this case that would also be their patients, Munoz said.
A medical doctor's patients are not his business partners, so this
issue doesn't block a doctor's right to not release patient records,
he said.

Lentz said the names should be kept private because California's
Compassionate Use Act of 1996 allows the sale of medical marijuana and
allows for anonymity by letting individuals get permission from their
doctor in a private setting. This is because marijuana possession is
illegal under federal law. Lentz said the city's attempt at getting
the names is a way for them to get around the anonymity factor.

The court proceedings come just days after the Department of Justice
announced that the focus in the war on drugs should be on drug
traffickers, not medical marijuana dispensaries. Although federal
prosecutors may now be backing off these facilities, state and local
governments are not.

Medical marijuana dispensaries have been banned by several Orange
County cities such as Huntington Beach, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Hills.
Lake Forest is currently in the middle of a pot battle. The city
slapped civil complaints against about three dozen people associated
with medical marijuana dispensaries in the city in September. Since
then, many public debates between pot proponents and advocates have
ensued.