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When Taft Police Chief Bert Pumphrey recently learned someone was looking to open a local medical marijuana dispensary, he acted swiftly in light of unresolved state and federal legal issues in this controversial matter.
Pumphrey went to the Taft City Council meeting Dec. 19 "to request an emergency moratorium to allow time for the planning department to look at zoning issues and ... for the resolution of pending litigation in California courts."
And the City Council responded just as swiftly, passing by a 5-0 vote a 45-day emergency interim ordinance temporarily prohibiting medical marijuana establishments in Taft, according to City Councilman Cliff Thompson.
"I want to err on the side of caution," Thompson said.
But just what exactly is making Taft police and city officials wary? After all, Proposition 215, which was passed in California in 1996 and is also known as the "Compassionate Use Act," allows people with a valid doctor's recommendation to grow and use marijuana for personal medical reasons.
The problem is that even as the state has continued to uphold this law, the federal government still prosecutes people for possession and use of marijuana -- even those claiming to use it for medicinal purposes.
"There is a conflict there and until that conflict is resolved, I would rather wait and see," Thompson said. "I would also like to see how many people in our community need this service."
The city of Taft is not alone in seeking a resolution banning the opening of local marijuana dispensaries.
Azusa in Southern California is another city that is in the process of passing such a resolution, according to a recent Associated Press article.
And on Sept. 8, 2004, the Bakersfield City Council passed and adopted a resolution whereby medical marijuana dispensaries are not permitted within the city of Bakersfield, city attorney Ginny Gennaro said. The vote was unanimous, Gennaro said, with Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan absent.
Gennaro said this was before the case of Gonzales v. Raich, in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June 2005 that the federal government has the power to ban marijuana even when states approve its use for medicinal purposes, as the U.S. Constitution allows Congress to regulate interstate commerce.
"We take the position that the fact that federal law says marijuana is a controlled substance makes it of unlawful use," Gennaro said.
Other Taft city officials also don't want to get caught in the middle of a state-versus-federal legal battle.
Taft city attorney Kathy Gibson, who was also at the Dec. 19 meeting, said "some legal authorities have suggested that in a worst-case scenario the city or any other public agency might, under federal law, be aiding and abetting" in the trafficking of a controlled substance by allowing marijuana dispensaries.
"I don't believe federal or state laws have been clearly defined in allowing this type of business to be a public retail business," said Taft Mayor Paul Linder.
"If it's a prescribed medication, the doctor needs to put it down in a prescription form and we should be able to go down to Rite Aid or a local pharmacy and have it dispensed there," Linder said, "just like other controlled medications."
Neither Pumphrey nor Thompson is sure Proposition 215 requires cities to allow dispensaries and Pumphrey said that, in his mind, a marijuana dispensary is basically a "drug dealer." Neither has ever been to any of the half-dozen dispensaries that exist in Kern County, nor knows the address of one nor knows what one looks like inside, each said.
Jim McGowen, owner of American Caregivers Collective on Gilmore Avenue in Oildale, was happy to describe what the inside of his dispensary looks like.
* You enter, he said, and come upon a professional-looking counter where patients present their doctor's recommendation for using marijuana for medicinal purposes. The recommendation is verified just the same as a prescription, he said, and has to be from a state-licensed physician.
* About 10 feet away from the counter is a small room with two glass display cases containing acrylic jars with different strains of "cannabis medication." People choose the strain that's right for them by sight or smell, he said.
* There is no marijuana paraphernalia for sale at his dispensary, McGowen said. There are no live plants for people to take home and grow themselves. What his clients get is the dried bud in a sealable plastic bag with a warning label reminding consumers that the medicinal herb is for personal use and nontransferrable, is to be kept out of children's reach and should not be used while operating heavy machinery.
McGowen said a medical marijuana dispensary in Taft would be a positive thing.
"It's helping a lot of people," McGowen said. "There are people who are driving 30, 40 miles wasting gas and money to buy it. If they had it there they wouldn't have to travel so far."
He said his dispensary helps "hundreds" of people every month who are suffering from diverse ailments: nausea, chronic pain, mental health conditions and other sufferings.
Both Thompson and Pumphrey said there were no opinions either in favor of or against the council's vote from citizens attending the Taft public hearing.
For now one thing is clear: No marijuana dispensaries will be opening up in Taft anytime soon.
"Prior to the 45 days running out I will be asking the council to extend that," Pumphrey said. "And most likely the allowable extension would be for a total of two years."
He said if during that time the courts rule that Taft has to allow for a local dispensary, "we'll deal with it at that time."
Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The Bakersfield Californian
Pubdate: 4 January 2007
Copyright: 2007 The Bakersfield Californian
Contact: bakersfield.com | Kern County news, events, shopping & search
Website: bakersfield.com | Kern County news, events, shopping & search
Pumphrey went to the Taft City Council meeting Dec. 19 "to request an emergency moratorium to allow time for the planning department to look at zoning issues and ... for the resolution of pending litigation in California courts."
And the City Council responded just as swiftly, passing by a 5-0 vote a 45-day emergency interim ordinance temporarily prohibiting medical marijuana establishments in Taft, according to City Councilman Cliff Thompson.
"I want to err on the side of caution," Thompson said.
But just what exactly is making Taft police and city officials wary? After all, Proposition 215, which was passed in California in 1996 and is also known as the "Compassionate Use Act," allows people with a valid doctor's recommendation to grow and use marijuana for personal medical reasons.
The problem is that even as the state has continued to uphold this law, the federal government still prosecutes people for possession and use of marijuana -- even those claiming to use it for medicinal purposes.
"There is a conflict there and until that conflict is resolved, I would rather wait and see," Thompson said. "I would also like to see how many people in our community need this service."
The city of Taft is not alone in seeking a resolution banning the opening of local marijuana dispensaries.
Azusa in Southern California is another city that is in the process of passing such a resolution, according to a recent Associated Press article.
And on Sept. 8, 2004, the Bakersfield City Council passed and adopted a resolution whereby medical marijuana dispensaries are not permitted within the city of Bakersfield, city attorney Ginny Gennaro said. The vote was unanimous, Gennaro said, with Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan absent.
Gennaro said this was before the case of Gonzales v. Raich, in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June 2005 that the federal government has the power to ban marijuana even when states approve its use for medicinal purposes, as the U.S. Constitution allows Congress to regulate interstate commerce.
"We take the position that the fact that federal law says marijuana is a controlled substance makes it of unlawful use," Gennaro said.
Other Taft city officials also don't want to get caught in the middle of a state-versus-federal legal battle.
Taft city attorney Kathy Gibson, who was also at the Dec. 19 meeting, said "some legal authorities have suggested that in a worst-case scenario the city or any other public agency might, under federal law, be aiding and abetting" in the trafficking of a controlled substance by allowing marijuana dispensaries.
"I don't believe federal or state laws have been clearly defined in allowing this type of business to be a public retail business," said Taft Mayor Paul Linder.
"If it's a prescribed medication, the doctor needs to put it down in a prescription form and we should be able to go down to Rite Aid or a local pharmacy and have it dispensed there," Linder said, "just like other controlled medications."
Neither Pumphrey nor Thompson is sure Proposition 215 requires cities to allow dispensaries and Pumphrey said that, in his mind, a marijuana dispensary is basically a "drug dealer." Neither has ever been to any of the half-dozen dispensaries that exist in Kern County, nor knows the address of one nor knows what one looks like inside, each said.
Jim McGowen, owner of American Caregivers Collective on Gilmore Avenue in Oildale, was happy to describe what the inside of his dispensary looks like.
* You enter, he said, and come upon a professional-looking counter where patients present their doctor's recommendation for using marijuana for medicinal purposes. The recommendation is verified just the same as a prescription, he said, and has to be from a state-licensed physician.
* About 10 feet away from the counter is a small room with two glass display cases containing acrylic jars with different strains of "cannabis medication." People choose the strain that's right for them by sight or smell, he said.
* There is no marijuana paraphernalia for sale at his dispensary, McGowen said. There are no live plants for people to take home and grow themselves. What his clients get is the dried bud in a sealable plastic bag with a warning label reminding consumers that the medicinal herb is for personal use and nontransferrable, is to be kept out of children's reach and should not be used while operating heavy machinery.
McGowen said a medical marijuana dispensary in Taft would be a positive thing.
"It's helping a lot of people," McGowen said. "There are people who are driving 30, 40 miles wasting gas and money to buy it. If they had it there they wouldn't have to travel so far."
He said his dispensary helps "hundreds" of people every month who are suffering from diverse ailments: nausea, chronic pain, mental health conditions and other sufferings.
Both Thompson and Pumphrey said there were no opinions either in favor of or against the council's vote from citizens attending the Taft public hearing.
For now one thing is clear: No marijuana dispensaries will be opening up in Taft anytime soon.
"Prior to the 45 days running out I will be asking the council to extend that," Pumphrey said. "And most likely the allowable extension would be for a total of two years."
He said if during that time the courts rule that Taft has to allow for a local dispensary, "we'll deal with it at that time."
Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The Bakersfield Californian
Pubdate: 4 January 2007
Copyright: 2007 The Bakersfield Californian
Contact: bakersfield.com | Kern County news, events, shopping & search
Website: bakersfield.com | Kern County news, events, shopping & search
