TENSIONS RISING OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY

Ryan Hudson, manager of a newly opened business on bustling Fulton
Avenue, has a background in marketing and auto sales. His personal
art growing pot for his back pain and sleeplessness is now part of
his new occupation.

The medical marijuana store Hudson and partners opened Dec. 1 is
adding to the restlessness of Sacramento County code enforcement officials.

Nine months after the county issued notices to shutter or ban a dozen
medical cannabis stores, declaring they were not permitted under
current zoning laws, at least 27 pot shops are operating in the
unincorporated area. Another 13 closed voluntarily, moved or were
evicted by landlords.

County officials say some of the businesses were evasive about their
operations when they applied for business licenses and others may
have opened without a permit.

The influx is testing the will of the Board of Supervisors.

Dispensary operators and medical marijuana advocates are lobbying the
county to follow the lead of the more liberal city of Sacramento,
which allowed 38 medical marijuana shops to seek special permits to
stay in business, set strict rules for their operations and banned
new dispensaries from opening. Sacramento city voters also authorized
taxes of 2 to 4 percent on gross receipts of medical pot clubs.

While the county has put out a "not welcome" sign to pot clubs,
county officials and medical marijuana advocates say the spread of
dispensaries suggests the county needs a clear set of rules on how to
rein in the trade.

"My concern is that if we forestall these things, we will get an even
more serious proliferation," said Sacramento County's chief code
enforcement officer, Carl Simpson. He has warned supervisors about
neighborhood complaints of pot smells from some stores and potential
security issues with businesses handling large sums of money to
dispense a cash crop.

The county recently formed a committee, including interim County
Executive Steven Szalay, interim planning director Leighann Moffitt
and officials from the Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's
Office, to study the dispensary issue. Meanwhile, the county in late
December sent out a new round of notices to pot shops, telling them
they were operating illegally.

"We are aware that violations occur frequently due to a lack of
knowledge of the regulations," the notice read. "Therefore, we want
to call these violations to your attention and request that you bring
the conditions into compliance by doing the following: Cease
operating the marijuana establishment immediately."

Hudson and partners opened their dispensary, The Reserve, with a
waiting room and security window to verify physicians' medical
marijuana recommendations before clients are buzzed through to a pot
store stocked with designer cannabis strains, brownies and other
medicinal products. After barely a month of operation, the pot shop
was getting positive reviews in a Sacramento weekly newspaper for its
"Green Ribbon" marijuana strain "known for its sky high THC level"
and psychoactive punch.

But officials recently notified the club that it is to be inspected
to confirm it is dispensing marijuana in violation of county zoning codes.

"We're just waiting for them to show up," Hudson said last week.
"We're hoping to stay open as long as we can."

Judging by the county's efforts to close unsanctioned marijuana
stores, he may not have any immediate worries.

County officials have active violation notices or inspection orders
on 27 marijuana clubs.

Nine dispensaries appealed closure notices to the Board of
Supervisors and were denied permission to stay in business. Eight of
those dispensaries are still operating, including two that moved to
new locations and two more that are challenging county actions in
court. Another was issued an eviction notice by its landlord.

Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan, an ardent foe of allowing pot shops in
the county, said she is frustrated so many remain in operation or are
opening anew.

"I'm not satisfied by the pace we're pursuing this," MacGlashan said.
"I'm getting calls from my constituents saying, 'Why are these here?
We didn't think this was allowed.' "

MacGlashan represents northeastern Sacramento County suburbs,
including Orangevale, where a little more than a year ago
ex-construction contractor David Spradlin opened the Magnolia
Wellness Center in an office complex on Greenback Lane.

The Wellness Center now has a clientele of 7,500 medical pot users,
serving up its high-demand "Master Mango" marijuana variety along
with "Buddy's Favel Nut" cannabis coffee and "Chocolate Rocket"
brownies. The place is now a member of the local chamber of commerce
and is sponsoring an Orangevale-area blood drive. And three other
Orangevale dispensaries have since opened nearby.

Near North Highlands, Sung Ryu wasn't at all happy when a marijuana
store, the Rx Pot Shop, opened near his family's dry cleaning
business. He complained about heavy odors of marijuana, saying they
were so bad he got headaches. He installed an air filter to get the
stench out of the cleaners.

The operator of the Rx Pot Shop, Dan Holbert, said he has since
sealed up walls and added insulation to keep scents from drifting outside.

Holbert moved the pot shop there from another location where the
county ordered him to close. Furious over the order, he posted photos
of building inspectors and code enforcement officers on an online
"wanted" poster accusing them of "patient rights violations."

Sacramento County Patients & Collectives, a group trying to negotiate
a solution with the county to allow the dispensaries to remain,
disassociated itself from Holbert over his protest.

"I was just trying to bring attention to the problem," he said. "We
felt like we were all alone. There is no zoning code for us. The
county said we're not even allowed to be here."

Supervisor Phil Serna, who met last week with dispensary operators
represented by the Patients & Collectives group, said he supports
drafting regulations that would allow some dispensaries to remain
under strict operating guidelines.

But he made no promises.

"I did point out to the people when I met with them that the politics
of the county is not the same as the city," Serna said. "They need to
be aware of that."