TEMECULA MEDICAL MARIJUANA CO-OP SET FOR MONDAY OPENING

Despite warnings from the city, a medical marijuana activist said a
co-op created to help patients get their medicine will open its doors
in Temecula on Monday.

Douglas Lanphere said Cooperative Patients' Services will provide a
secure venue for legitimate medical marijuana patients to exchange the
drug with each other. The establishment, in a leased storefront on the
southern end of Old Town Front Street past First Street, will allow
members to bring marijuana in for processing, he said.

California voters legalized marijuana use for medicinal purposes in
1996. While several Temecula businesses offer medical marijuana
referrals, the city has banned dispensaries since 2004.

Lanphere maintains the ban doesn't apply to the co-op. No marijuana
sales will take place since the co-op members collectively own the
marijuana, according to Lanphere.

"We facilitate the transactions between members," he said. "We're not
the (entity) that makes the transaction directly with the patient."

City officials disagree with Lanphere's reasoning and say the code
makes no exception for co-ops.

"We'll just have to wait and see exactly what he does or does not do
there," City Attorney Peter Thorson said Friday.

Only co-op members will have access to the marijuana, and the co-op
will have guards and other security measures in place, Lanphere said.

"We're not going to have pot plants in the lobby," he said, adding
that most patients consume marijuana through liquid or forms other
than smoking.

Lanphere and others have met with city officials and spoken at City
Council meetings about the need for a safe facility for medical
marijuana patients to get their medicine. Earlier this year, the group
received a business license to operate as Qualified Patients Resource
Center.

It got another business license in September under the name
Cooperative Patients' Services, which is classified by the city as a
"resource center." The new license, however, includes wording that
mentions the city's dispensary ban and forbids "any other use or
action that violates any provision" of the city code.

Lanphere believes a state court ruling issued in August on Anaheim's
dispensary ban gives the co-op the legal right to operate. He said the
decision makes it clear that federal law, which outlaws marijuana,
does not pre-empt California's medical marijuana laws.

Thorson said the city zoning law is "very clear" about medical
marijuana and that the Anaheim decision does not legitimize the co-op.

The city will need to figure out what's going on at the co-op before
taking action, Thorson said.

Lanphere said the city has tried to stall the co-op's opening, an
accusation Thorson denied. The co-op is prepared to challenge any
citations, Lanphere said.

"We're of the belief that we've done everything transparently,"
Lanphere said.