BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OK RULES FOR MEDICAL-MARIJUANA
DISTRIBUTORS

County officials moved one step closer Tuesday to closing some of the
county's larger medical-marijuana organizations.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors gave final approval to an
ordinance limiting the number of clients seen by marijuana-distribution
organizations as well as capping at 99 the number of plants they may
possess.

The new rules are aimed at shutting down large operations with
hundreds of plants and customer lists that hover in the thousands.

"I think this is a good effort," Supervisor Pete Vander Poel said. "I
think this is good for the county."

The move comes after an emotional -- and sometimes angry -- public
hearing last month. More than 40 medical-marijuana supporters came
out to defend the state law that allows distribution of the plant to
those with a doctor's prescription.

This week, however, neither medical marijuana's supporters nor
critics said anything during the meeting.

Currently, there are five medical-marijuana facilities in the
county's unincorporated areas -- in Goshen, Ivanhoe, Tipton and near
Exeter and Porterville. Some of those facilities claim patient lists
of more than 1,000.

But county officials are moving to limit the number of facilities in
the unincorporated areas to three, which would close two of them.

The new ordinance will limit the allowed facilities to "collectives,"
which serve a small number of patients and do not operate for profit.

The larger dispensaries, sheriff's officials say, are illegal under
both state and federal law.

The sheriff's department plans to have each of the facilities
inspected by the time the ordinance goes into effect Dec. 10.