POT PROVIDERS FACE INTENSE INLAND SCRUTINY

Medical marijuana might be legal in California but it's going to take
a court of law to decide what that means as cities and counties push
to ban marijuana cultivation and sales.

Shops where eligible medical marijuana patients can purchase pot are
banned in many Inland cities, and both Riverside and San Bernardino
counties, as those governments use zoning laws to deny business permits.

Medical marijuana-rights advocates say cities and counties need to
give them reasonable permit guidelines to follow so clients will have
access to pot not provided by illegal dealers.

Those on both sides of the issue are carefully watching the state's
Fourth District Court of Appeal, which is hearing at least two cases
connected to citywide bans on marijuana collectives. Many say the
issue will ultimately be decided by the state's Supreme Court.

At the center of many of the disputes is the power cities have to ban
dispensaries, which are for-profit stores that can sell pot to
medical-marijuana patients, and their rights to use zoning laws to
ban collectives, which are nonprofit cooperatives of growers and
eligible patients. Collectives are legal under state law but still
excluded by many cities.

In the meantime, officials are trying to conform to state laws
allowing medical marijuana while obeying federal drug laws that
outlaw marijuana cultivation and sales.

Local governments also struggle to mollify the concerns of many
residents who don't want pot shops dotting area shopping centers.

Frank Oviedo, Wildomar's city manager, expressed frustration the
matter had fallen to local governments to sort out. He said the
federal government should create a framework for regulating medical
marijuana, like it does for other pharmaceutical businesses.

As it stands now, California cities are stuck between the federal
government, which deems pot illegal, and the state, which guarantees
patients safe access, he said.

"Where does that leave city government?" Oviedo asked. "We don't make
it a practice to challenge the federal government."

Much of the dispute between officials and collectives rests on
determining who is providing compassionate care for those entitled to
fire up a joint or eat a cannabis cookie at a collective, and those
trying to make a buck slinging dope through a legal loophole via a dispensary.

Collective conundrum

Officials in many cities said collectives -- where patients eligible
for medical marijuana can find others who are legally growing pot and
then pay for their excess marijuana -- are legal. They note they are
banning dispensaries, which operate for-profit.

Tactics vary from city to city, based on the cases. Riverside and a
local marijuana collective -- formed to avoid retail sales of
marijuana -- are battling in court over the collective's right to
operate off Main Street in northern Riverside. The city considers it
a dispensary because various growers sell their wares.

San Bernardino County has cracked down via Sheriff's Department raids
of some suspected illegal operations, including one in Mentone where
the operators were arrested for charging set prices, as opposed to
donations, and not verifying people's eligibility to use medicinal marijuana.

Perris officials have cited a local cooperative for numerous building
code violations. The Relaxed Expressions Collective and its
pot-growing operation remain open, but city spokesman Joe Vargo said
the case is still pending.

In Lake Elsinore, city officials are working to close a retail shop
they say is violating a business license that specifically forbids
medical marijuana sales. But the shop owner contends he is within the
law and has challenged Lake Elsinore's attempt to ban marijuana sales.

The city has received some complaints about the shop, which remains
open, said Councilman Robert Magee.

"I have seen a fear from other businesses and customers that don't
feel comfortable," Magee said.

Skepticism of a growing and collective operation also arose in
Wildomar, where city officials considered setting precise rules, only
to have residents push for an outright ban.

Changing scene

As a result of raids and bans, many dispensaries are reforming as collectives.

Though legal, collectives also are finding themselves under intense
scrutiny. Inland cities and counties are examining them to make sure
they're legit, and targeting some for being dispensaries in disguise.

The Riverside County Sheriffs Department estimates 46 marijuana
dispensaries and collectives are operating in the county, Deputy
Chief Mitch Alm said, with 21 of those in unincorporated areas.

"The numbers change from day to day. They do come and go," he said.

Each of those operations is being investigated to make sure it is
complying with state and local laws, he said. County supervisors
reiterated the county's ban on dispensaries last month, and
investigations could take months to complete, Alm said, so he could
not say how many are operating illegally.

"If we investigate, and they are operating within the rules, they're
legal," he said.

The collectives that do operate within the rules said regulations
would help separate the legitimate operations from illegal ones,
supporters said. But lately the cities and counties have taken a
tough approach by targeting all medical marijuana providers, and
supporters think it is less about the law and more about outlawing
pot at all costs.

"Our relief will come from the courts," said Lanny Swerdlow, a nurse
and medical marijuana advocate who helped found the Inland Empire
Patients Health and Wellness Center on North Main Street. "We'll all
find out where this is headed once the courts decide."

Swerdlow said he's confident marijuana advocates will win. But if
they don't, he said bans in most areas will make finding pot
difficult for those legally entitled to it.

Worse, for those that can't grow their own, is that the bans will
mean much higher prices, he said.

"I don't want anyone taking Vicodin for pain relief because they
can't afford medical marijuana," Swerdlow said.

Staff Writer John F. Hill contributed to this report.