CITY FOLLOWS SENSIBLE PATH ON COLLECTIVES

What a difference the city limits can make.

Last month the Redding City Council - after granting wide rein and
official Police Department blessing to its medical marijuana
collectives since 2009 - abruptly ordered them to shut down in
response to a Southern California Court of Appeal ruling that found
city licensing schemes in fatal conflict with federal law.

Just up the road in the city of Shasta Lake, on the other hand, the
City Council reacted to the latest legal twist Tuesday night not by
rushing to shutter collectives, a move suggested by City Councilwoman
Dolores Lucero, but by declaring them welcome local businesses that
serve a real need for patients. The council voted 4-1 to take a new
stab at writing a zoning ordinance, this one in compliance with the
law, at least as it stands this week.

The fine distinction the city is trying to draw is one the Court of
Appeal justices suggested in the Pack v. Long Beach ruling: A city
cannot explicitly allow marijuana sales - it can't license what the
federal government still considers drug dealers - but it can regulate
collectives by telling them what they cannot do. Local codes can
prohibit serving minors, operating near schools, allowing marijuana
use in parking lots, etc.

That's not a perfect solution, and Redding officials argued that
without licenses - and especially the ability to suspend or revoke
them - they wouldn't have strong enough tools to ensure compliance
with city standards.

One way or another, local ordinances must evolve.

Shasta Lake's Development Services Director Carla Thompson said she
wouldn't break the law, especially given the recent court ruling and
letters from federal prosecutors stating that local licensing
ordinances violate the Controlled Substances Act. "I'm the one issuing
those licenses," she told the council, "and I don't want to go to
prison." Who can blame her?

At the same time, Thompson said the city had no reports of
law-enforcement calls or nuisance complaints about Shasta Lake's two
collectives. They've by all accounts been good neighbors, which surely
helps their cause (though it won't make a nickel's worth of difference
if and when the U.S. attorney's office calls).

Especially in contrast to Redding's abrupt over-reaction, the Shasta
Lake City Council's restrained response to the shifting legal winds is
fair to patients even as it avoids needless court battles. At least
somebody's figured out a way we can live together.