DA SAYS CHICO COUNCILORS COULD FACE JAIL OVER POT DISPENSARIES

CHICO -- Weighing in on the Chico City Council's Tuesday decision to
begin drafting a zoning ordinance for medical marijuana dispensaries,
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey warned that the council is
walking a fine line between legal and illegal action.

Tuesday, the council gave direction to City Attorney Lori Barker to
begin drafting an ordinance that would designate where medical
marijuana dispensaries could be located in the city limits and what
guidelines the operations would have to adhere to.

Thursday evening, Ramsey said on the surface, the council's action is
within California's legal parameters.

"The City Council can zone for collectives or cooperatives if they so
wish," Ramsey said. "It is certainly their prerogative to do so."

But Ramsey also noted that storefront dispensaries are vastly
different from collectives or cooperatives in the eyes of the law.

Although he said collectives and cooperatives are permissible by
state law, Ramsey said selling or distributing marijuana is
prohibited. It is his opinion as the county's top law enforcement
official that storefront dispensaries are illegal.

Although the City Council would not be engaging in direct criminal
action by allowing dispensaries, Ramsey said designating storefront
dispensaries as legal entities is still crossing the line of the law.

"I want to make the distinction that you cannot authorize that which
is illegal, legal," Ramsey said. "If that which is illegal is
authorized as legal, you can expect to see every one of those city
councilors in jail."

City Councilor Andy Holcombe said he believes the council is acting
within the limits of the law.

Although he mentioned he is not a criminal attorney, Holcombe said
his research of the case law regarding medical marijuana dispensaries
does not demonstrate that the council would be acting criminally by
allowing dispensaries within the city limits.

Holcombe said the action is a land-use decision, saying the council
is not deciding whether a dispensary is legal or illegal, it is
simply designating where they can exist.

"As a city councilor and attorney, I cannot think of any factual
pattern or legal principle that would make the council criminally
liable for passing a land-use ordinance," Holcombe said.