WILLIAMS JOINS FIGHT AGAINST MEDICAL POT

The Williams City Council introduced an ordinance Wednesday that will
prohibit the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in town,
and other businesses that potentially violate state and federal law.

Cities and counties throughout the state have been scrambling to
tighten up regulations after experiencing a rash of business license
applications from people wishing to operate marijuana stores, city
officials said.

"Some of these stores may possibly comply with state law, but many do
not, and all violate federal law, which continues to prohibit the
cultivation, use, purchase and sale of marijuana for any purpose,"
said Monica Aguayo, Williams assistant planner.

The City Council proposes to hold a public hearing on the issue on
April 21.

Glenn County passed a similar 45-day ordinance on Tuesday, barring
medical marijuana dispensaries and the cultivation of medical
marijuana until county officials have time to study how to properly
zone and plan for them.

The city of Orland has a similar ban, while Corning has established
indoor cultivation regulations, but still has a ban on dispensaries
and outdoor cultivation. Tehama County recently adopted an ordinance
that regulates how and where medical marijuana can be grown.

Although voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, allowing for the
use of marijuana for medical purposes, the act did not require local
governments to provide for marijuana stores, according to the
resolution adopted Wednesday in Williams.

City officials said cities that have permitted the establishment of
medical marijuana dispensaries have witnessed an increase in crime,
such as burglaries, robberies and sales of illegal drugs in areas
immediately surrounding such dispensaries, as shown in studies and
reports from the California Chiefs of Police Association.

An initiative to legalize marijuana was certified for November's
ballot last week, after backers turned in signatures from hundreds of
thousands of voters.

If the initiative, officially called the Regulate, Control and Tax
Cannabis Act of 2010, is approved, adults 21 and older would be
permitted to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Anyone could grow up to 25 square feet of plants per residence,
according to the initiative, and local governments would be asked to
craft rules on distributing and taxing marijuana.

Williams police Chief Jim Saso said the California Chiefs of Police
Association, of which he is a member, plans to mount an opposition to
the initiative.

The proposed ordinance, which already cleared the Williams Planning
Commission, will amend the city's municipal code to clarify that no
business which is illegal under state or federal law, including
medical marijuana dispensaries, may be licensed or operated in
Williams and that all land uses that violate either federal or state
law will be banned.