COUNCIL TO DISCUSS MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

The Porterville City Council will revisit the issue of marijuana
during its regularly scheduled meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City
Hall, 291 N. Main St.

City staff are asking the council to look again at its current
regulations in the event federal law, which prohibits the use,
possession, transportation and distribution of marijuana, is changed.

Some states have said private individuals can grow marijuana for
medical purposes, but under federal law, dispensaries are still illegal.

In November 2007, the council approved regulations that effectively
prohibited land uses that are inconsistent with local, state and
federal law - by implication, prohibiting the location of medical
marijuana dispensaries - and provided for regulation of such
dispensaries in the event federal law is changed so that such a use is
permitted.

If federal law ever changes, City Manager John Lollis said certain
zoning elements need to be in place to mitigate the effects on others
of growing marijuana.

A few city regulations that would apply if federal law changes
include:

- - Anyone wishing to operate a dispensary shall be required to obtain a
special permit;

- - The city limits the number of permits allowed to one for every
25,000 residents;

- - Such permits are for the duration of one year and may be
renewed;

- - Background checks and investigations are required;

- - Once permitted, the dispensary must operate according to a set of
specific requirements.

Staff are asking the council to consider whether it wants to maintain
its current dispensary regulations or change them.

Since the passage in 1996 of Proposition 215, which enables people to
use marijuana for medical purposes, the city has seen "a substantial
increase in the cultivation and use of cannabis, purportedly for
medical purposes" as well as "increased complaints related to the
growing and cultivation of marijuana," according to a staff report.