COUNTY TO DRAFT MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY ORDINANCE

ID Program OK'd, Will Start Taking Applicants July 6

SAN DIEGO ---- After approving a medical marijuana ID program for the
county, the Board of Supervisors said Tuesday that they will tackle an
even thornier issue: deciding under what circumstances it is legal to
sell pot for medicinal purposes.

At their meeting, supervisors Dianne Jacob and Bill Horn proposed
asking the county's attorney, John Sansone, to draft an ordinance
making for-profit, medical marijuana dispensaries illegal in the
unincorporated areas of the county.

But after some debate, the supervisors agreed to direct the attorney
to look at how the county can comply with the state's medical
marijuana law, which allows marijuana use for medicinal purposes,
without running afoul of federal law, which forbids its use altogether.

The county fought the state's medical marijuana law for years until
the case hit a legal dead end last month, when the U.S. Supreme Court
declined to hear an appeal from San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

"I think this is an important step to protect our communities from
illegal drugs," Horn said. "We're not talking about legal
dispensaries. We're talking about folks who sell ... marijuana. I
think we need to put a stop to this."

The supervisors voted 4-1 to create an ordinance on the medical
marijuana dispensaries. Supervisor Ron Roberts voted against the
proposal, saying that it was not needed because for-profit
dispensaries were already illegal.

At issue is whether the dispensaries sell marijuana to medical
patients for profit or not.

Last year, California Attorney General Jerry Brown said that
for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries in the state are probably
operating illegally.

Brown also said that formal cooperatives registered under the state's
Food and Agricultural Code, or organized as less formal "collectives,"
are legal under California law.

The attorney general advised local law enforcement officials that each
legitimate dispensary can grow six mature or 12 immature plants per
qualified patient, each of whom needs a doctor's recommendation to
smoke marijuana to ease health problems.

Each dispensary also can have a half-pound of dried marijuana for each
qualified patient.

Medical marijuana advocates told the supervisors Tuesday that they
wanted clear rules to avoid getting in trouble with police.

"You are not giving us guidance because you haven't created any
rules," said Wendy Christakes, a medical marijuana patient who said
she began using the drug in 2002 when she fell and broke her back.

Federal law makes marijuana illegal in all circumstances. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the state law doesn't shield
California users, sellers and growers from federal
prosecution.

However, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that federal
agents will now target marijuana distributors only when they violate
both federal and state laws, a departure from the policy of the Bush
administration.

In 1996, voters in California approved the Compassionate Use Act,
which legalized marijuana for medical use.

The Legislature later approved Senate Bill 420, which required
counties to issue ID cards to help police identify legitimate medical
marijuana patients.

After its long court battle, San Diego County will begin accepting
applications for medical marijuana ID cards on July 6, charging up to
$166 for each card. The supervisors unanimously approved the ID card
program on Tuesday.

The state requires a $66 fee and the county needs $100 to cover staff
time and other administrative costs, county officials said. Medi-Cal
patients will get a reduced price on the cards, $83 each.