MENIFEE BANS POT CLINICS, FOLLOWS AREA TREND

The Menifee City Council voted 3-1 Tuesday to ban medical marijuana
dispensaries, following in the footsteps of six other surrounding
cities and extending the prohibition to all of southwest Riverside
County.

A handful of residents supported the ban, citing concerns about
potential health hazards and the possibility of the pot clinics
becoming "magnets for crime," as resident Denis Nurmela put it.

A few people opposed criminalizing dispensaries, including Councilman
Tom Fuhrman's 21-year-old grandson Devin LaMon and Robert Reidel, the
founder of a medical pot collective in San Diego County.

Fuhrman cast the lone vote against the ban.

"I know people who have (medical marijuana) cards and it does help
them," Fuhrman said. "Myself, I would like to see us set up some
serious regulations. The city of San Jose has done this and they have
an income of over $4 million to help their city."

Other council members lobbied to continue Menifee's anti-marijuana
stance. In June 2009, the council temporarily outlawed marijuana
clinics to give city staff time to research laws and the city's options.

The moratorium was set to expire on June 15.

Councilwoman Darcy Kuenzi cited the conflict between federal and state
law regarding medical pot dispensaries and said she saw no benefit in
allowing the businesses.

Though federal law considers marijuana an illegal substance,
California's Proposition 215 permits medical use of marijuana and
allows card-carrying patients to possess up to six mature pot plants
for personal use.

Currently city officials believe there are no dispensaries in Menifee,
though there have been several inquiries about establishing one, City
Attorney Karen Feld said in a report.

Robert Reidel, who runs Mother Earth's Alternative Healing Cooperative
in San Diego County, said after the meeting that he hopes to meet with
city officials to share more information and discuss ways the city
could regulate medical pot-growing collectives.

Reidel said marijuana illegally grown in California produces a total
yearly profit of about $35 billion.

"We'd like to capture that money and turn it into a legal use in a
legal manner that can help us do positive things like build hospitals
in our communities," he said.