MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAKES ITS WAY TO THE BEACH CITIES

Obtaining marijuana for medical purposes in California and now in the
beach cities is just a phone call away despite bans on medical marijuana
dispensaries by local cities.

It turns out pot delivery services for those who attain a "recommendation"
from a physician have been around for a while and new establishments,
known as collectives, are popping up with delivery services to Redondo,
Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, as well as other South Bay cities.

A doctor's prescription is not required to buy marijuana from one of these
delivery services, but rather only a "recommendation" which can be
obtained from medical marijuana physician lists available online.

Patients' ailments can range from AIDS and cancer to eating disorders and
migraines, all of which have been determined by some to be relieved or
improved with the help of cannabis consumption.

Delivery services such as www .Bakedery.com, based in Santa Monica,
advertises to the South Bay clientele, with a "free gift for new patient"
enticement printed in its newspaper ad, and the South Bay 420 Collective
advertises on the Internet with delivery also to the beach cities. Both
require an original doctor's recommendation and a California driver's
license, One service verifies the recommendation by phone then by the
delivery driver, and the other service requires both to be faxed or
scanned, then e-mailed for verification. Once verified, an order can be
placed.

According to cannabis consultant Jim Wilson of Ventura, the delivery
services can operate within cities that have enacted bans on dispensaries
or placed moratoriums on them, such as Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa
Beach, because the establishments are collectives.

The Bakedery states on its Web site that its services are 100 percent
legal in California, and is a collective for patients of Los Angeles
County. The "collective" definition is legal under California Senate Bill
420, passed in June 2004, and states that "Qualified patients, persons
with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of
qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate
within the state of California in order to collectively or cooperatively
cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of
that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions."

Under the same bill, collectives and cooperative gardens are recognized
without regard to county boundaries, so the pot can cross city and county
lines to reach patients.

Drivers carrying the medical herb tread on murky ground. They are
registered caregivers according to staff at the Bakedery, and they deliver
to one patient at a time so as not to violate legal quantities.

Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rod Uyeda and Hermosa Beach Police Chief Greg
Savelli both agree that because the medical marijuana laws are still being
molded and are changing, drivers who carry the prescribed pot may not be
free and clear of arrest. "Transporting (the marijuana) as a caregiver is
a defense. It doesn't mean we can't take action," said Savelli. He stated
there are limits to the amounts a caregiver can possess, and because the
issue is still taking shape legally, officers are instructed to basically
use best judgment.

Uyeda said if the driver or medical marijuana user has proper
identification and the amount in possession appears to be for personal
use, an arrest will most likely not be made. But if it looks like there is
intent to distribute and sell, such as individually wrapped and bagged
quantities, and cash, than an officer may choose to make the arrest based
on possession and transporting with the intent to distribute. "It's based
on probable cause, then it goes to court," said Uyeda. Obtaining marijuana
for medical purposes in California and now in the beach cities is just a
phone call away despite bans on medical marijuana dispensaries by local
cities.

It turns out pot delivery services for those who attain a "recommendation"
from a physician have been around for a while and new establishments,
known as collectives, are popping up with delivery services to Redondo,
Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, as well as other South Bay cities.

A doctor's prescription is not required to buy marijuana from one of these
delivery services, but rather only a "recommendation" which can be
obtained from medical marijuana physician lists available online.

Patients' ailments can range from AIDS and cancer to eating disorders and
migraines, all of which have been determined by some to be relieved or
improved with the help of cannabis consumption.

Delivery services such as www.Bakedery.com, based in Santa Monica,
advertises to the South Bay clientele, with a "free gift for new patient"
enticement printed in its newspaper ad, and the South Bay 420 Collective
advertises on the Internet with delivery also to the beach cities. Both
require an original doctor's recommendation and a California driver's
license, One service verifies the recommendation by phone then by the
delivery driver, and the other service requires both to be faxed or
scanned, then e-mailed for verification. Once verified, an order can be
placed.

According to cannabis consultant Jim Wilson of Ventura, the delivery
services can operate within cities that have enacted bans on dispensaries
or placed moratoriums on them, such as Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa
Beach, because the establishments are collectives.

The Bakedery states on its Web site that its services are 100 percent
legal in California, and is a collective for patients of Los Angeles
County. The "collective" definition is legal under California Senate Bill
420, passed in June 2004, and states that "Qualified patients, persons
with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of
qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate
within the state of California in order to collectively or cooperatively
cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of
that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions."

Under the same bill, collectives and cooperative gardens are recognized
without regard to county boundaries, so the pot can cross city and county
lines to reach patients.

Drivers carrying the medical herb tread on murky ground. They are
registered caregivers according to staff at the Bakedery, and they deliver
to one patient at a time so as not to violate legal quantities.

Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rod Uyeda and Hermosa Beach Police Chief Greg
Savelli both agree that because the medical marijuana laws are still being
molded and are changing, drivers who carry the prescribed pot may not be
free and clear of arrest. "Transporting (the marijuana) as a caregiver is
a defense. It doesn't mean we can't take action," said Savelli. He stated
there are limits to the amounts a caregiver can possess, and because the
issue is still taking shape legally, officers are instructed to basically
use best judgment.

Uyeda said if the driver or medical marijuana user has proper
identification and the amount in possession appears to be for personal
use, an arrest will most likely not be made. But if it looks like there is
intent to distribute and sell, such as individually wrapped and bagged
quantities, and cash, than an officer may choose to make the arrest based
on possession and transporting with the intent to distribute. "It's based
on probable cause, then it goes to court," said Uyeda.