RECALL TARGETS THREE ON REDDING CITY COUNCIL; MEDICAL MARIJUANA
ADVOCATE SLAMS DISPENSARY BAN

An outspoken Redding medical marijuana patient and advocate presented
three City Council members with recall notices Tuesday night.

Rob McDonald, 50, presented council members Francie Sullivan, Rick
Bosetti and Patrick Jones with the notices during the meeting's public
comment period.

"Tonight I do something that isn't easy for me," McDonald said before
announcing and presenting the notices. "Four weeks ago you basically
listened to a group of people who basically wanted to violate another
group of people's rights and you closed down the dispensaries."

The notice presented to Bosetti presents a more detailed explanation
of the recall.

"You have continually ignored the rights and freedoms as guaranteed
the people by the Constitution of the United States of America and the
Constitution of the state of California," the notice says. "You have
discriminated against people based on their choice of medicine and
told them that they don't need safe access after harvest season had
ended, leaving thousands without their medicine if you are successful
in closing down the collectives."

The council voted unanimously Nov. 15 to ban dispensaries. That
decision followed a 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling in October
that says efforts by officials in Long Beach to dictate which
collectives can operate and which cannot go far beyond Prop. 215 and
conflict with federal law.

That decision also invalidated Redding's permitting system for
dispensaries, city officials have said.

McDonald also commented on the city's decision in October to lease the
Civic Auditorium to Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.

"Previously you did not listen to the whole city and you gave our
convention center away," he said. "So that's why, it's kind of with
heavy heart tonight, that those of you who are not up for election in
2012, I'm going to try to put you up for election in 2012."

The council members did not react and McDonald left the meeting after
his comments. He was accompanied by James Benno, another outspoken
medical marijuana patient who's claimed the city tried to force his
landlord to evict him over a violation of the city's marijuana growing
laws.

McDonald, who owns norcalbeat.com, has spoken frequently on behalf of
medical marijuana issues. He's been a strong opponent of the city's
decision last month to ban dispensaries.

All three council members' terms expire 2014. Bosetti has said he is
running for state Assembly next year while Jones recently announced a
bid for a Shasta County supervisor seat.

Jones said after the meeting he stands behind the council's decision
to ban collectives. The decision didn't eliminate access to medical
marijuana as many have claimed, he said.

He believes Redding residents will ultimately support the council
members though he doesn't have a problem with a recall effort.

"Everybody has the right to recall," he said.

Bosetti said the Bethel lease wasn't mentioned in the recall notice
and the city didn't give away the auditorium with that deal.

Sullivan said she wasn't surprised about the announcement and she,
too, supports her initial vote for the ban.

"I'm just really sorry that this is being misunderstood. This has
nothing to do with the merits of medical marijuana," she said, noting
the ban was prompted by the court's ruling in the Long Beach case.

"They said we did not have the authority to permit medical marijuana
collectives," Sullivan said. "It was, in my mind, the only choice we
had."

The notices are a prelude to a signature-gathering campaign to qualify
the recall vote for a ballot.

City Clerk Pamela Mize said she will review the documents to see if
they meet the legal requirements for an official recall effort.