OWNER OF VISALIA MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY DOES NOT FACE ARREST

A defiant medical marijuana dispensary owner who's boycotting Tulare
County's new ban on such businesses does not face arrest, a Sheriff's
Department spokeswoman said.

"It's a misdemeanor offense," Sgt. Chris Douglass said. "We'll be
filing a complaint with the District Attorney's Office."

Jeff Nunes runs Visalia Compassionate Care in the 31000 block of Road
160. An outspoken advocate of medical marijuana as Tulare County
officials crafted an ordinance, he appealed last week to the Board of
Supervisors, asking members to study the problem more closely before
shutting down the facilities.

Visalia Compassionate Care was open Tuesday, Douglass said. It's
unknown whether it did business Wednesday, when phone calls to Nunes'
dispensary and its affiliate, Medical Marijuana Awareness and
Defense, went unanswered.

Nunes serves about 400 customers. It's estimated that about 10,000
people in the county have prescriptions for medical marijuana.

The countywide ban on dispensary operations went into effect Sunday.
Compliance checks by deputies this week found that six other
dispensaries in the unincorporated areas had closed.

Dispensary operators who closed up shop over the weekend included
Tammy Murray, who ran the Compassionate Cannabis Information Center
in Goshen.

"I definitely don't want to do anything that's going to get me
arrested," she said.

Last month county supervisors voted to halt distribution of marijuana
in unincorporated areas. The ordinance officially took effect Dec.
10, though the businesses were given until Sunday to shut down. It
does not affect medical-marijuana organizations within incorporated
cities.

Sheriff's Department officials said dispensaries do not comply with
state and federal law. Under the new county ordinance, no
organization that operates as a dispensary will be allowed in
unincorporated areas until the distribution of medical marijuana is
allowed by federal law, said Cpt. Mike Boudreaux of the Sheriff's
Department's investigations unit.

State law allows collectives to grow marijuana or process products
for patients with prescriptions. If state and federal laws come into
agreement, the county will limit the number of facilities to three,
and none of the dispensaries will be allowed to operate near schools
or allow customers to test the drug onsite.