JUDGE HALTS ACTION AGAINST TULARE COUNTY MEDICAL POT FARM

A judge has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Tulare
County agencies from removing or destroying medical marijuana from a
small farm just north of Visalia.

But Superior Court Judge Melinda Reed's order Friday will stay in
effect only until Wednesday, when lawyers representing Tulare County
are expected to submit their written arguments against the
application for a restraining order against the county filed with the
court earlier this week by Richard Daleman.

He leases five acres of mostly farmland near Highway 63 and the St.
Johns River. Daleman rents out portions of that land to 40 people to
grow marijuana that they smoke or ingest to treat medical conditions.

Daleman, himself a medical marijuana user, said he started the
business a couple of years ago and believes he has a right to do so
under California's Compassionate Use Act, which legalized the use,
possession and growing of marijuana by people with doctors' recommendations.

The county Resource Management Agency served Aug. 31 Daleman and his
landlord a cease and desist order, claiming the business violates the
county's 2009 medical marijuana ordinance.

Among its provisions is that medical marijuana can be grown only on
commercially zoned land - not land zoned for farming, including
Daleman's plot - and the growing has to be done inside buildings with
walls and roofs.

The order gives Daleman until Saturday to stop allowing the plants to
be gown on the land and to clear out the marijuana plants, which
number about 3,500.

Daleman's lawyer, John Ryan, filed an application with the court
claiming the county ordinance violates the state's medical marijuana
laws and related court rulings. It also seeks a restraining order to
stop the county from shutting down the business.

A hearing was scheduled at the Visalia courthouse Friday morning, but
the judge assigned the case, Paul Vortmann, was scheduled to be off
that day. So the case was moved to an early afternoon hearing in
front of Reed, whose first question to the lawyer from the Tulare
County Counsel's Office was whether she had a written response to
Daleman's application and claims.

Attorney Julia Langley said her office only received a copy of
Daleman's application Thursday morning and didn't have sufficient
time to research and prepare a response.

She did tell Reed that Daleman's request "doesn't have a legal basis
to go forward."

Langley went on to say the county has a right to right to make
regulations to protect public health and safety, and the ordinance
has been challenged and upheld.

Reed said she wanted to give the county time to provide a written
response to Daleman's application. The soonest that could happen is Tuesday.

Langley said that before Wednesday's hearing, she plans to file a
request with the court to issue an injunction ordering Daleman and
his landlord to "stop the activity and abate the nuisance on his
property," which essentially means removing all the marijuana plants
not growing any more on his land.

Such an order would include a deadline, along with a provision
allowing the county to step in after the deadline and do abatement,
if needed, Langley said.

Whether that happens will depend on whether Vortmann extends the
Reed's restraining order against county agencies.

That order doesn't apply to law enforcement agencies conducting an
investigation of criminal activity. The county's cease-and-desist
order is a civil action, and no accusations of criminal activity have
been leveled against Daleman.

After Friday's hearing, Ryan said he wasn't surprised at Reed's
decision to issue the brief restraining order, considering little
time there was between his filing the application Wednesday and
Friday's hearing.

As for the county's efforts get Daleman to stop the activities on his
land, Ryan said,. "I think the order is completely invalid."

He added that he and is client believe the county ordinance is
intended to drive up costs for medical marijuana users and set
obstacles to using the drug despite the fact that it's medicinal use
is legal in the state.

"I think there's a sort of animus against marijuana users in
general," Ryan added.

"You do something they don't like, they railroad you," Daleman added.