MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE PROPOSED IN OCEANO

The owner of a medical marijuana collective in the Central Valley has
high hopes of opening a similar business in her new home town -- Oceano.

Tammy Murray, director and chief executive officer of Compassionate
Cannabis Information Center in Goshen, wants to open shop at a home
she purchased in the 1400 block of South Fourth Street.

Escrow closed on the blue, two-story house in April, and Murray is
working with county planners to acquire the necessary permits to open
and operate a collective at the Oceano residence.

Project planner Bill Robeson expects the county Planning Commission to
hold a public hearing on the proposed collective in about three months.

"We are still in the information-gathering phase," Robeson said this
week.

Murray opened the Compassionate Cannabis Information Center, or CCIC,
in 2008 after meeting an injured veteran at Fresno's veterans hospital.

The man was suffering from internal shrapnel injuries and could not
take traditional pain medications, so he smoked marijuana for relief,
Murray said.

"I'm doing this for all the right reasons and the right way," said
Murray, who has used medical marijuana for her own ailments for the
last 15 years. "It will draw the right kind of people."

If she is permitted to open a medicinal marijuana collective in
Oceano, CCIC would be the first legal cannabis club in San Luis Obispo
County.

Others have attempted to open collectives in Nipomo and Templeton but
failed to gain county approval.

A county ordinance allows dispensaries to be established in such
unincorporated areas as Oceano but specifies the facilities must be
located 1,000 feet away from public schools, playgrounds, parks, youth
or recreation centers and libraries.

"(The house) is really quite perfect for what it needs to be," Murray
said, adding the collective would bring four new jobs to Oceano and
create $36,000 in annual sales tax revenue for county coffers.

The area where Murray bought the home for the proposed collective has
mostly light industrial uses, with a few nearby residences.

More than 30 percent of Murray's clients in Goshen are disabled
military veterans, who she said are her target market as the
individuals can often only tolerate cannabis to treat their pain and
mental health issues.

Murray is also a disabled veteran.

"After these men and women have served to protect our freedoms, it
seems like a slap in our face that they would not be allowed to choose
the right medication for themselves," Murray said.

She also said the stereotype of "Deadheads" being the individuals who
use medicinal marijuana is simply a misconception that many people
believe.

"We cater to people who are maimed, have osteoporosis, fibromyalgia,
anxiety and depression, people with chronic pain and eating
disorders," Murray said. "We improve the lives of so many. I feel like
what I do is noble and helps people. It's not as taboo as you think."

Sheriff's Cmdr. Ken Conway said Murray paints a "wonderful picture" of
her proposal, but he doesn't want to see a collective open in the community.

"It's a bad law (that) legalized drug dealing," Conway said of
California's medical marijuana law. "That's a rough part of town ...
and it will be encouraging (crime)."

Murray believes the collective would not bring increased crime to
Oceano, as the business would be open by appointment only, making it
more regulated, and only operate between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

She would also have someone live on the property full time and a
state-of-the-art security system installed before opening.