MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUPPORTERS TO ADDRESS TULARE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Some operators of medial marijuana dispensaries in Tulare County said
they plan to ask the county's Board of Supervisors to rewrite a
series of proposed ordinances that they say could harm their
businesses as well as the people who smoke and ingest the plants to
treat pain and other ailments.

That may include trying to get the supervisors to better understand
how the growing and dispensing of medical marijuana works, said Jeff
Nunes, director of the Visalia Compassionate Care, a dispensary south
of Ivanhoe.

He said he plans to address the supervisors during their regular
meeting Tuesday, during which they may vote to approve the ordinances.

"We're gong to basically insist that the Board of Supervisors tour
our [marijuana] farms," some of which are run by professional farmers
who also grow nuts, oranges and other large cash crops, Nunes said.

He said he's also hoping to form a group of local experts to further
educate the supervisors on the industry and how it helps people.

This follows last week's vote by the supervisors to go forward with
the ordinance following some minor revisions. If approved Tuesday,
those ordinances would be the first regulating medical marijuana in
unincorporated Tulare County.

Among the provisions of the ordinances:

Dispensaries would have to obtain business licenses. Part of that
licensing would involve criminal background checks of dispensary operators.

Anyone smoking medicinal marijuana must do so inside a habitable,
private residence and not in garages or detached buildings.

Cultivating and storing would be done in fully enclosed, secure
buildings with roofs, no visible signage, and monitored alarms.
Structural designs would restrict the smell of marijuana from blowing
to other buildings and public areas.

An individual, collective or cooperative would be limited to no more
than 99 plants.

There could be no more than three collectives or cooperatives in
unincorporated Tulare County.

There are five medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated
areas, along with two others in the city of Tulare. Those two
wouldn't be affected directly by the ordinance, though customers and
people growing for the dispensaries outside the city limits might be affected.

Some growers aren't professional farmers producing marijuana as a
side crop for extra money. Instead, many are people who grow the
plants to treat there own medical conditions and trade some of it to
dispensaries for other strains -- which can be more effective against
certain illnesses -- or they sell it to the dispensaries.

Nunes said his dispensary alone has more than 3,500 patients, and
curtailing how many plants his growers can produce or store could
make it difficult to supply his clients, all of whom have doctor's
prescriptions for marijuana.

He estimated about 10,000 patients in Tulare County use medicinal marijuana.

Tammy Murray, director of the Compassionate Cannabis Information
Center, a dispensary in Goshen, said she believes part of the problem
is county officials greatly underestimate the number of people here
who depend on marijuana as medicine.

A big reason for that is patients still are leery about getting
medical marijuana cards from the county even though it is legal in
the state, she said.

The cards are not mandatory for patients.

Unfortunately, Murray said, she believes the county supervisors'
decisions also are being driven by misconceptions about people who
use medical marijuana and the people who run the dispensaries.

"I do feel the county is being a bit discriminatory of what we're
doing because of past taboos that are really unfounded," and paint
the patients getting high and posing dangers to the public, she said.

"I have attorneys and all kinds of professional people who come to
this dispensary, and a lot of them would be people you would never
expect to smoke cannabis."

And about a quarter of those clients are military veterans, Murray said.

"Another problem with this industry is the fear it's being run by
thugs," she added. "In my case, at least, that's simply not the case."

All this could be moot, however, because the ordinance states that
the county regulation would take effect only if both California and
federal laws allow for growing and use of medical marijuana.

No such federal law exists, though federal law enforcement agencies
have been directed to avoid arresting people who comply with their
states' medical marijuana laws.

Nunes said he's optimistic that could happen within a couple of years.

Strip Clubs

That same set or ordinances includes new rules for strip clubs that include:

Permits and criminal history background checks for dancers.

$60 permit that would include the performers' photos, names, stage
names, height, weight and address.

Dancers would be 21 and older and have to cover specified parts of their bodies

Dancers on stage would have to be at least 10 feet from spectators
and couldn't make direct physical contact when receiving tips.

[sidebar]

ADDITIONAL FACTS

How to Attend

What: Tulare County Board of Supervisors

When: 9 a.m. Tuesday

Where: Board chambers, 2800 W. Burrel Ave., Visalia

Public comment: 9 a.m.

Get the agenda: Go to www.co.tulare.ca.us, click on "County
Government," "Board of Supervisors," "Board Agendas," then the meeting date.