CITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION OPPOSING MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

The Fontana City Council unanimously approved on July 14 a resolution
that opposes a California ballot initiative that intends to legalize
various marijuana-related activities.

Despite the pleas of several local residents and experts who defended
the use of marijuana during the public comments section of the
meeting, the four-member council approved the resolution without any
discussion.

The city's resolution opposes Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control
and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, which will be on the ballot for the
Nov. 2 general election.

Fontana Chief of Police Rod Jones argued that Prop. 19, which would
permit local governments to impose and collect marijuana-related fees
and taxes, "does little more than a complete and wholesale
legalization of marijuana."

Jones added that the use of medical marijuana, one of the main
arguments by proponents of Prop. 19, "is better left to medical
science rather than a popular vote."

"This act prohibits employers from taking any disciplinary action
against employees for using marijuana unless they can show actual
impairment," said Jones. "Billions of dollars in federal grants and
subsidies will be lost to the state because California employers will
no longer be able to comply with the Federal Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988."

According to a staff report, Prop. 19 would likely increase marijuana
use among children and young adults, as it reportedly did in Alaska,
where marijuana use was legalized in 1978 and then repealed in 1990.

In addition, staff reports indicated that "...marijuana has been
proven to impair the development of the teenage brain, and more than
80 percent of youth being treated for substance abuse are addicted to
marijuana."

However, local resident Ron Deziel claimed that some of the
statistics the chief presented are unfounded and need revision.
Deziel indicated that liquor also impairs brain development and yet
teenagers have easier access to alcohol than marijuana, and that
under Prop. 19 obtaining marijuana will be heavily regulated.

"(Marijuana) is not different from a supplement that you can get from
a store, not much different from other drugs that are legally
available to responsible adults; just because is legal it does not
mean is going to undermine society and corrupt our youth," said Deziel.

He and 10 other activists urged the City Council to wait and analyze
the facts and then come back at a future date to make a wise
decision, but the council denied his request.

Robert McCoy, an Ontario-based attorney with relatives in Fontana,
asked the council to be neutral on the subject to avoid possible
lawsuits in the future. He argued that the resolution is a potential
liability to the city if Prop. 19 passes.

"Ninety-eight percent of officers will uphold the law, but two
percent don't care about the law, and they don't care about
protecting people's lives. My concern with this is that the city is
adopting a resolution ratifying that conduct," said McCoy. "Illegal
conduct by officers arresting somebody without probable cause could
cause the city some lawsuits. Your job as the City Council is to be
neutral; once the proposition is voted on, then you can come back and
make resolutions."

Carlos Ceballos indicated that by adopting Prop. 19, cities like
Fontana could generate money that could be used for after school
programs, parks, recreational activities and law enforcement. By
refusing to adopt it means municipalities are going against the will
of the people, he said.

The public is sharply divided over the idea of legalizing cannabis. A
recent Field Poll showed that Prop. 19 was narrowly trailing, but a
SurveyUSA poll found that Californians were in favor of the measure
by 10 percentage points.

In 1996, 56 percent of Californian voters approved Prop. 215, which
legalized marijuana use for seriously ill patients. However, medical
marijuana patients run the risk of apprehension under federal law,
which local authorities tend to follow.

Prop. 19, spearheaded by Richard Lee, a marijuana legalizing activist
from Oakland, would allow persons over the age of 21 up to one ounce
of marijuana for personal consumption. It would allow persons to use
marijuana in a non-public place such as a residence or a
establishment licensed for on-site marijuana consumption, and allow
them to grow marijuana at a private residence for personal use.

If approved, Prop. 19 would allow local governments to authorize
retailers to sell up to one ounce of marijuana per transaction. Local
governments could authorize larger amounts of marijuana for personal
possession and cultivation depending on a person-by-person need.