POT CLUB CALLED FOR AT FAIRMONT HOSPITAL

Supervisor Proposes Opening County-Run Facility at Fairmont

Supervisor Nate Miley wants officials to consider opening a medical
marijuana dispensary at the county-owned Fairmont Hospital -- a
revolutionary idea that puts a twist in long-standing efforts to craft an
ordinance governing dispensaries in unincorporated areas.

Miley said the idea would add legitimacy to efforts to dispense cannabis
for medicinal use and would address community concerns about dispensaries
in their neighborhoods.

"I think it's the right thing to do," Miley said. "If we're saying it's
medicine, let's put it in a medical setting."

Miley said community members first approached him about setting up the
dispensary at Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro, one of the hospitals that
makes up the Alameda County Medical Center.

For nearly two years, county officials have been working to draft an
ordinance that would regulate the number and location of medical marijuana
dispensaries in unincorporated areas of Cherryland, Ashland, Fairview and
Castro Valley.

That ordinance moved closer to completion Monday, with the board's
two-member planning and transportation committee signing off on a draft
plan that, pending some changes, will be forwarded to the full Board of
Supervisors for a final vote, possibly on May 24.

The ordinance allows for a maximum of five clinics in unincorporated areas
- -- down from the current seven. Clinics would be licensed by the county
through a process that includes a background check and a review by the
sheriff's office, the county health department and the Community
Development Agency, among other regulations.

No two clinics could be within 1,000 feet of each other, and each would
have to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks and playgrounds. Clinics
near schools would have to close for an hour while school is let out, as
well as during lunch hours if students are allowed to leave campus.

Miley added a last-minute addition to the ordinance requiring officials to
research piloting a county-run dispensary at Fairmont Hospital. Miley said
the dispensary could be run by county officials or by a private contractor
operating with the county's blessing.

If the Fairmont idea ultimately bears fruit, the county could revoke the
licenses of the other clinics, Miley said.

Alameda County apparently would be one of the first counties in the nation
to run its own clinic, and officials said they need more details on the
legality of the county's purveying cannabis before moving forward.

Supervisor Scott Haggerty -- who sits on the transportation and planning
committee with Miley -- said he wants to make sure the county has
legislative approval to run such a clinic before the idea proceeds.
Haggerty said he didn't want to put county employees at legal risk.

The Fairmont clinic idea received a mixed reception among those attending
Monday's committee meeting. Several people who opposed the dispensaries in
their neighborhoods supported the plan, saying a county hospital is the
most fitting location. Sheriff Charles Plummer, who has been frustrated by
the county's slow movement toward drafting an ordinance, has endorsed the idea.

But others -- patients who rely on marijuana to manage chronic illnesses --
favor licensed, responsible clinics closer to home.

"Fairmont seems to have quite a bit of problems up there already," said
Stephanie Rodrigues of San Leandro, a bone cancer patient who uses medical
marijuana.

Other speakers wanted the county to draft a tougher ordinance. Business
owners and residents complained of problems near current clinics, including
loitering, littering, public urination and rude patients.

Angelo Madrigal, director of student services at San Lorenzo Unified School
District, said the patients who frequent a dispensary near school grounds
send the wrong message to children who are being counseled to steer clear
of drugs.

"The clinics, I believe, are contributing to the destruction of young
people," said Poppy Richie of San Lorenzo, who said her healthy,
19-year-old son was able to obtain an identification card given to those
who use medical marijuana. It's too easy for young people to obtain the
cards, said Richie; she wants supervisors to ban the dispensaries.

But Sparky Wilson Rose, executive director of Compassionate Caregivers --
which runs a clinic in San Leandro -- called the proposed ordinance a
"responsible compromise" that balances the county's needs with the rights
of reputable medical marijuana clinics.

Rose urged the county to give preference to the most responsible clinic
owners in granting licenses that would be handed out under the proposed
ordinance.