PLYMOUTH POT CODE TO PROTECT CITY IN LIGHT OF COMPASSIONATE USE ACT

About a dozen medical marijuana advocates attended Plymouth City Council's
regular meeting last Thursday, during which the council passed city code
changes to protect against uncontrolled spread of the weed.

"Like so many cities in California, we have no laws regarding medical
marijuana," said City Attorney Mike Dean, who placed the subject on the
agenda as an emergency item in light of a recent application for a city
business license to run a medical marijuana dispensary in Plymouth.

The 1996 state referendum which legalized medical marijuana cultivation and
distribution - the "Compassionate Use Act" - caused a recent boon of
applications for such licenses in neighboring counties, Dean said. The city
joins a growing group of cities facing a state law that legalizes the sale
of medical marijuana, even under the shadow of federal law which outlaws it.

City Planner Eileen Shaw said a draft of the new city code would be taken
to the planning commission, which will apply it to the city. She said the
commission would hold a public meeting, take input and make recommendations
to the city council.

"The essence of this is not going to change the ordinance. There is going
to be no wholesale change of the ordinance at all," Shaw said. She said the
planning commission likely would study the new code in July.

Dean last week told the council he thought city law couldn't ban the
operation of a cannabis dispensary, because of state law legalizing it. The
U.S. Supreme Court this summer will hear a couple of cases on medical pot,
but in the meantime cities are forced to follow California state law and
cover their bases. Nine states have medical marijuana laws, according to
The Associated Press.

Dean told the council that if the city did nothing in regard to the law,
such a shop could be allowed anywhere in the city, with affects on
neighborhoods that the council and citizens might not want. He said
imposition of requirements will protect the city with respect to law
allowing for and regulating distribution of medical marijuana.

Shaw said the city clerk had not "officially received" the application for
the cannabis dispensary business license - delivered by legal agent Steven
R. Alvidrez of Sacramento on behalf of Mike Koll of Plymouth - because no
licensing fees were collected and the paperwork was not filed.

Had the city not passed the new laws regulating cannabis dispensaries, one
could be operated simply by getting a business license in the city, Shaw said.

Now, however, the next step for Koll, in light of the new law, Shaw said,
would be to apply for a conditional use permit. The city would then
determine if the application meets all the requirements.

The code passed last Thursday automatically qualifies cannabis dispensaries
as "major use" conditionally permitted, which Shaw said requires a public
hearing before the planning commission before approval by the city council.

The new code changes the city zoning ordinance to have "Use Permits for
Medical Cannabis Dispensaries" and defines acceptable locations, which Dean
said could be further delineated by the planning commission.

The new law states that "no medical cannabis dispensary shall be located in
any residential zone; within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, middle
school, high school, public library or public park; or within 1,000 feet of
a youth-oriented establishment" and describes forbidden areas as "sensitive
use" areas.

The new codes will limit a medical cannabis dispensary permit to be valid
for a year. The permit will be issued by the city administrator, or, as is
the case now, with no administrator in office, the permit will be issued by
the mayor. Also, the code limits the issuance of a medical cannabis license
to one per year, meaning only one such business will be allowed to operate
inside the city limits at any given time.

Also, the code allows for the city administrator or the mayor to work with
the city's head law enforcement agent and "shall conduct a background check
of any applicant for a dispensary permit or employee thereof and, based on
that and other relevant information, determine whether to issue a
dispensary permit," the code states.

A dispensary must also "apply for and maintain a general city business
license as a prerequisite to obtaining a permit" and follow these operating
standards:

"A medical cannabis dispensary may possess no more than eight ounces of
dried cannabis per qualified patient or caregiver and maintain no more than
six mature and 12 immature cannabis plants per qualified patient. However,
if a qualified patient or primary caregiver has a doctor's recommendation
that this quantity does not meet the qualified patient's medical needs, the
dispensary may possess an amount of cannabis consistent with the patient's
needs.

"No cannabis shall be smoked, ingested or otherwise consumed on the
premises of the dispensary" including the building, "accessory structures,
parking areas or other immediate surroundings."

"Persons under the age of 18 shall not be allowed on the dispensary's
premises unless they are a qualified patient or a primary caregiver."

"No dispensary shall hold or maintain a license from the State Department
of Alcohol Beverage Control to sell alcoholic beverages, or operate a
business that sells alcoholic beverages."

"Each dispensary shall allow the city administrator to have access to the
dispensary's books, records, accounts and any and all data relevant to its
permitted activities for the purpose of conducting an audit or examination."

"The dispensary shall provide adequate security on the premises, including
lighting and alarms, to insure the safety of persons and to protect the
premises from theft," as approved by the city's head law enforcement officer.

=95 The "operations of the dispensary (should be) consistent with
protection of the health, safety and welfare of the community, qualified
patients and primary caregivers and will not adversely affect surrounding
uses."

"The building in which the dispensary is located shall comply with all
applicable local, state and federal rules, regulations and laws including,
but not limited to, building codes and the Americans with Disabilities Act,
as certified by the building official of the city."

"A dispensary shall not cultivate or distribute medical cannabis for
profit. A dispensary may receive compensation for its actual expenses,
including reasonable compensation for services provided, or for payment of
out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing those services. However, any
such dispensary must pay applicable sales tax on such sales or services and
maintain the applicable sellers permit or similar permit from the State
Franchise Tax Board or other applicable agency."

"No cannabis may be cultivated on the premises."

"A dispensary that provides cannabis in the form of food ... shall obtain
and maintain the appropriate licenses from the County Health Department for
the provision of food."

Must prove to the city administrator in writing that it "is not engaged in
interstate commerce."

The code allows for fees to be determined by the city administrator "on
both the application for, and the issuance of a permit for, a dispensary to
recoup the city's cost in administering and implementing the provisions
relating thereto, including but not limited to the costs for background
checks or charges" by either law enforcement or building official.

Violations of permit terms and conditions "of this Code, or of applicable
local, state, and federal rules, regulations and laws shall be unlawful,
and shall also be grounds for revocation of the permit or for nonrenewal,"
the code states.

Dean said the city administrator - or in his absence, the mayor - or the
lead law enforcer for the city would be responsible for enforcing city law
over a cannabis dispensary.

Fred Schultz of El Dorado spoke to the council, said he has been involved
in the medical marijuana issue for "several decades." The electrician said
he found marijuana to be the best way for him to cope with pain from an
amputated left leg. He said pot was a better solution to "the intense pain
with prosthetics," rather than narcotics he had previously been prescribed
by doctors, such as vicodin or codeine.

"Maybe I'll be able to grow my medicine legally someday," Schultz said. He
said he did not want children to use marijuana, which makes them "lazy and
forgetful." But he said medical use should be de-stigmatized with changes
made to "government policies keeping pot illegal."

"Here's a medicine you can grow yourself and you don't have to spend $1,000
on it," Schultz said.