City Ready to Make Decision

MEDICAL MARIJUANA COULD GAIN FOOTHOLD IN CLAREMONT

CLAREMONT - In the 10 months since Darrell Kruse opened his
dispensary here, the city has become an unlikely battleground in the
state's legally uncertain medical-marijuana program.

Kruse, who opened his dispensary last September without city
permission or a business license, was fought by the city and forced
by court order to shut down.

Since its initial battle with Kruse and despite the current
moratorium prohibiting dispensaries, the City Council has appeared to
soften its stance against medical marijuana. During its most recent
discussion in May, several council members made comments in favor of
dispensaries.

The City Council is poised to decide at its meeting Tuesday night
whether it will ban dispensaries - as nearly all of its neighboring
cities have - or become one of the first in the Inland Valley to
allow and regulate the controversial businesses.

"The easiest thing would have been for the council to say, 'No, we
don't want it - let's ban it,' or to continue the moratorium," said
Sam Pedroza, seen as the swing vote on the issue among a split
five-member council. "That would have been the easiest thing, but
this council took a different approach. I think it was a better approach."

Conflicts between state and federal law on marijuana - underscored by
recent federal raids of several Southern California dispensaries -
have caused officials in local cities to balk when approached by
potential dispensary operators.

Since state voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 by passing
Proposition 215, about 27 cities and counties have decided to allow
dispensaries, 30 have banned dispensaries, and about 62 have passed
temporary moratoriums that bar the businesses, according to a
Claremont staff report.

In the Inland Valley, the only city to allow a medical-marijuana
dispensary has been Diamond Bar, which passed an ordinance last year
allowing a dispensary that opened without city sanction to remain in operation.

Every other city in the Inland Valley has fought to close
dispensaries that have opened without permission - including Pomona,
Norco, Corona and Riverside - and the remainder have passed bans or
moratoriums prohibiting the businesses.

Claremont has reacted differently.

A majority of the City Council members have said they voted in favor
of Proposition 215. Arguments against dispensaries in the city have
focused on the state's conflict with federal law rather than
questions about the legitimacy of medical marijuana.

A contingent of activists - picking up on the city's openness on the
issue - has become regulars at City Council meetings. One couple,
Upland residents Dave and Darlene Matteson, bake the council cookies
and brownies on a regular basis.

For Tuesday's meeting, city staff has prepared a comprehensive report
for the council on the state's medical-marijuana program.

Examples are included of regulations in cities and counties that have
allowed dispensaries such as San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and
West Hollywood.

"I need to be sure we can regulate a medical-marijuana dispensary
really well. I would like to allow it if I can," said Councilwoman
Linda Elderkin, who along with Councilwoman Ellen Taylor has been
generally supportive of allowing dispensaries in the city.

"I am very much looking forward to our staff report to see what
different approaches they have found to regulate it."

Cities identified in the staff report have placed limits on
dispensaries' operating hours, limits to the proximity of the
businesses to schools, churches and parks, and have included
regulations designed to ensure that dispensaries are not being used
as fronts for indiscriminate drug dealing.

"I would like to make sure that the people getting the medical
marijuana are people who are ill and need it," Elderkin said. "I
would like to make sure that the people selling it to them are
nonprofit. .. This is a service to the community. The prices should
be reasonable."

City officials have been meeting in recent months with David
Kasakove, a potential dispensary operator who says he is willing to
subject himself to city regulations if he is able to open a dispensary.

Kasakove, a Claremont native, said he will give a short pitch to the
council at Tuesday night's meeting.

"I'm going to keep it short and sweet," Kasakove said. "Claremont was
voted fifth-best city in the country to live. If there's a city in
the state that is perfect for a model dispensary program, it's Claremont."