OFFICIALS SQUEAMISH OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA

New medical marijuana operations proposed in the Nipomo area have SLO
county officials scrambling to their legal books in a move that could
kill the prospect of a local dispensary once and for all.

Every incorporated city within the county boasts either a temporary
or permanent ban on dispensaries, leaving only the unincorporated
areas open to applicants. An existing county ordinance allows
dispensaries in commercial areas, provided they're not near schools,
youth centers, and the like.

Following an application for a new dispensary proposed by Los Angeles
resident Robert D. Brody, Supervisor Katcho Achadjian and other
county officials asked legal representatives to tweak the current
ordinance to bring it in line with the ever-evolving guidelines on
medical marijuana. Specifically, county officials want to make sure
they're OK under the guidelines provided in August 2008 by California
Attorney General Jerry Brown, Deputy County Counsel Tim McNulty said.
According to McNulty, the county needs to analyze its definition of
what a dispensary is against Brown's definition.

Though there's been a lot of movement on medical marijuana since
Brown weighed in nearly two years ago (U.S. Attorney General Eric
Holder told federal drug officials to cease raids on legally
operating dispensaries, new California legislation could make
marijuana completely legal, and the state Supreme Court removed
limits on how much marijuana a patient can possess), Brown's
guidelines say medical marijuana is illegal when sold from a
dispensary for profit. By that same definition, medical marijuana is
legal only when distributed through a collective or
cooperative.

McNulty said SLO County's ordinance basically defines a dispensary as
a storefront, but noted there may be some revisions to close up any
loopholes that would allow illegal medical marijuana operations as
defined by Brown.

For now the bit of legalese is merely an administrative memo. But
based on what county staffers find, county supervisors could ask for
an official ordinance amendment. Because the Nipomo medical marijuana
operations fall under conditional use permit procedures, if the
county changes its ordinance, it could retroactively affect pending
applications, McNulty said.