SHERIFF WILL FILE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOP

Tulare County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday that it will file
a criminal complaint with the district attorney's office against a
medical marijuana dispensary that reportedly violated the county's
newly adopted laws regarding medical marijuana.

The announcement followed the department's completion of its second
round of compliance checks at the seven medical marijuana shops in the
county's unincorporated areas.

Detectives found that all but one of the dispensaries they initially
visited Dec. 10 were closed during what had been their normal hours of
operation.

We will not be going into specifics on who is not in compliance,"
spokeswoman Sgt. Chris Douglass said.

An ordinance enacted by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors
effective Dec. 10 requires medical marijuana shops in unincorporated
areas to comply with federal laws -- which say medical marijuana is
illegal.

At the conclusion of the compliance check the operator and staff at
the dispensary were advised they were out of compliance, and were
ordered to immediately shut down operations, according to the
sheriff's department.

When Tulare County supervisors adopted the ordinance in November, they
said it was a preventative step in case the federal government
recognizes that marijuana has legitimate medicinal values. The
ordinance restricts where the marijuana can be smoked, how many plants
can be grown, does not allow for edible or drinkables and caps the
number of distribution outlets to three.

When the first compliance checks were done two weeks ago, operators
were provided copies of the ordinance and given 10 days to come into
compliance with all state and federal laws.

Right now they are out of compliance," Lt. Keith Douglass said
previously. "They have to obey all state and federal laws, and federal
law says you cannot [provide medical marijuana]."

A California law enacted by voters in 1996, however, prevents law
enforcement from punishing marijuana users when a physician has
recommended its use to treat serious medical conditions.

In the past, federally led criminal raids took place to halt the
drug's distribution, but the Obama administration recently declared it
would stop cracking down on the 14 states that allow medical marijuana.

Local law enforcement agencies throughout the state have struggled
with the conflict in the law.

The fact that this in place does not mean that your board has
authorized the activity, it does not change the state law regulation,
and all of this is still illegal under federal law," said County
Counsel Kathleen Bales-Lange.

The sheriff's department's investigation, and follow-up spot checks,
will continue. Any dispensary found to have resumed business will
immediately be found out of compliance and a criminal case filed for
the violation of the county ordinance, the sheriff's department reports.