MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROUP WANTS DISPENSARY IN HESPERIA'S INDUSTRIAL AREA

HESPERIA - Members of a medical marijuana patients group are hoping to
open a medical marijuana collective in Hesperia's industrial area.

The group already has scouted several locations whose landlords have
expressed interest, said Kevin Sutman, spokesman for the West Coast
Patients Group.

Group members are working on the framework of a proposed city
ordinance, which they hope will go before the Hesperia Planning
Commission next month. If the commission gives the draft ordinance the
green light, the medical marijuana ordinance would go before the City
Council.

But there's one major hurdle -- Hesperia, like numerous other cities in
California, has an ordinance prohibiting medical marijuana
dispensaries. So Sutman's group is banking on a current legal case
known as the "Anaheim case" to pave the way for a dispensary. At the
center of the case is a group of medical marijuana patients who sued
the city of Anaheim for preventing them from setting up a dispensary.

However that case may go back to trial courts, which would delay an
ultimate decision for many months.

Sutman is hoping for a quick resolution on the side of medical
marijuana patients. That would force cities who have ordinances
against dispensaries to reevaluate their stances, he said.