POT SHOP ROLLED IN CATCH-22

Friday, the city of Oceanside heads back to court in its latest
attempt to shut down a local business.

Yep, that's right: A City Council dominated by gents from the
so-called "pro-business" crowd is out to close the North County Collective.

This business, though, is a medical marijuana dispensary and for the
past two years, Oceanside has been hell-bent on running those
establishments out of town.

The modern anti-pot crusade flies in the face of the 1996 vote of the
people to legalize medical marijuana in California and the fact
research has shown pot can ---- and does ---- help some people dealing
with chronic pain.

In addition, Oceanside's move is ironic given the fact most of the
City Council (and most of the other local governmental agencies in the
region) are dominated by those who came of age in the 1960s, when
using pot was a given among baby boomers.

(I tried pot back in the day ---- and I inhaled; no doubt some of our
local leaders did, too. I stuck with alcohol, though ---- it was
legal, ya know.)

At issue Friday is the North County Collective's failure to have a
valid business license.

But it seems the collective (and other dispensaries) can't get that
all-important document because Oceanside's codes do not include
marijuana dispensaries as "approved businesses" ... and only "approved
businesses" can get licenses.

Smells like a Catch-22, doesn't it?

It is.

California voters approved medical pot with Proposition 215, as it was
called, by a margin of five percentage points.

Since then, law enforcement types have been on the march to make it
hard on those who try to provide medical pot in a safe, controlled
environment. And at the local level, the most common tactic has been
using zoning ordinances.

Odds are the North County Collective may lose its court fight on
Friday.

Perhaps, though, the judge in the case will surprise us and take a
Solomon-like stance: Rule for Oceanside but order it to redraft its
ordinances to make some accommodation for medical marijuana
dispensaries.

A nice added touch would be to see the court allow the collective to
continue to operate until such an ordinance is enacted ---- provided
it continues to maintain the practices it has in place regarding
process, procedures and security.

Last month, Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood defended the move to oust medical
marijuana dispensaries in part because "some of these draw an
interesting crowd that's not in the city's interest."

I didn't know I was part of an "interesting crowd," but I guess I
am.

More on that issue Sunday.