SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SUPERVISORS AGREE TO ALLOW AND REGULATE MARIJUANA
DISPENSARIES

SANTA CRUZ - The sale of medical marijuana is - technically - illegal
in Santa Cruz County's unincorporated communities. The drug is banned
by federal law, and county building codes don't permit dispensaries.

But since passage of the voter-approved California Compassionate Use
Act and more recently the Obama administration's decision not to
crack down on medicinal pot use, marijuana ventures have increasingly
emerged across Santa Cruz. Nearly a half dozen dispensaries, from
Soquel to Boulder Creek, sell to the public and many other businesses
operate discretely in homes and garages.

On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors decided they could no
longer turn a blind eye to the industry. By unanimous vote, they
agreed to develop regulations that permit medical marijuana
dispensaries, under tight controls, and in the meantime placed a
moratorium on new shops until the rules are written and adopted.

"When I first got on the board 12 years ago, we fought this. I voted
against it," said county Supervisor Tony Campos, noting his South
County district's onetime aversion to the drug. "But now it's an
about-face. We're thinking a little bit differently (about marijuana) today."

For the handful of dispensary operators and the dozens of marijuana
users who showed up Tuesday to protect their interests, their future
rests in the details of the county legislation. The pending rules,
expected to be drafted by early November, will determine where the
drug can be sold, where the marijuana can be grown and how it can be marketed.

The stakes are high, says Santa Cruz attorney Ben Rice who has
followed marijuana law and the burgeoning industry. He notes there's
a robust economy behind the local trade.

"I would be surprised if more money is going into artichokes and
strawberries," he said. "If you pick up a tennis ball and throw it in
Santa Cruz County, you have a significant chance of hitting a marijuana grow."

In November, California voters will decide whether to legalize
marijuana for more than medical use, another potential bump for the industry.

The permitting and regulations being put in place by county
supervisors only pertain to medical distribution.

Dispensary operators and their patients are so far reacting
positively to the county's efforts.

"I'm looking forward to the dialogue to create regulations," said
Jonathan Kolodinski, who opened a marijuana collective this summer in
Soquel. His niche, at Creme De Cannna, is pot-laced ice cream.

Kolodinski joined other dispensary operators Tuesday in beginning to
lobby for how the new rules should be designed. Among the concerns
were having too many limits on locations, a ban on advertising and
employee age restrictions.

County Supervisor John Leopold, who has led the charge for
regulation, says the county has had the benefit of looking at
ordinances in eight other counties and 37 cities, including the city
of Santa Cruz, and seeing what works.

"We're not reinventing the wheel," he said, promising rules that will
ensure access to the drug as well as accommodate potential public concerns.

Unlike the city of Santa Cruz, which limits the number of
dispensaries to two, county supervisors do not envision a quota. They
expect to require dispensaries to obtain a use permit and pay an
annual fee, provide security at their facilities and perform regular
safety tests of their products.

A less conventional provision that supervisors are considering is
allowing low-income patients to receive the drug at a lower price or
perhaps having a nonprofit distribute the drug to the needy.

Supervisors expect to consider draft regulation at their Nov. 9 meeting.