Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "medical marijuana"

The highs and lows of medical marijuana in 2011

2011-12-29T04:35:45Z

In 2011, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento city and county went from being barely legal to riding a wave of potential for acceptance – but in the end, saw the future of their operations heavily scrutinized or banned outright.

Here’s what happened on the medical marijuana scene this year:

In February, medical marijuana dispensaries in the city were lining up to complete a permit application process that would allow a limited number of facilities to operate within city limits.

Pot shops that didn’t apply for the proper permits – or had applications denied through the process – were shut down by city code enforcement.

Once the application deadline passed for the first part of a two-part process, 39 dispensaries were left in the running for a permanent place on the Sacramento scene – while many others withdrew from the city limits to operate within the county, where restrictions were scarce and permits nonexistent.

As the county became aware of the proliferation of dispensaries within its boundaries, county leaders opened the door to regulating medical marijuana.

In August, medical marijuana awareness among the public reached a peak in Sacramento when the inaugural Hempfest Sacramento took place at an RV park and campground in Sutter County.

Despite dispensary operations gaining some favor with the city, dispensaries in the county continued to run afoul of laws that didn’t include any zoning regulations to protect them, and many dispensaries were shut down by the county.

In June, the federal Department of Justice sent a memo to state attorneys general stating that the federal government would enforce its marijuana prohibition laws – despite any state laws to legalize the drug.

In response, the City Council reviewed its permit application process and put a “freeze” on all dispensary applications until it could be determined that dispensaries could somehow operate legally under state law while still being at odds with federal law.

At the county, instead of pursuing an ordinance to allow special permits for medical marijuana dispensary operations, officials switched gears and moved to reinforce county codes that prohibit any “activity that violates federal or state law in any way” – essentially solidifying an all-out ban.

Dispensary operators and city residents weighed in on the ordinance freeze in the city, with public opinion being fairly evenly divided between support and opposition of keeping dispensary operations legal.

At the start of the year, medical marijuana dispensaries enjoyed a wide berth from the city to advertise in newspapers and on billboards, and pot shops openly operated throughout the city.

As the year draws to a close, however, many have turned to a more low-key approach to doing business while federal and state governments iron out their legal wrinkles.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Weighing in on the medical marijuana dispensary 'freeze'

2011-11-17T02:01:57Z

With an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the City Council put a nine-month hold on the application and permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries, bringing everything to a standstill.

City Councilman Darrell Fong was the only dissenting vote, citing concerns that proximity of dispensaries to schools and parks is not adequately addressed in the ordinance.

The freeze left some dispensary operators and medical marijuana patients concerned for the future of dispensaries and of the ability to access medicine.

The Sacramento Press asked people for their opinion of the current state of limbo that medical marijuana dispensaries are in. Reactions from Sacramentans ranged from mild to animated – one thing they were not, however, was ambivalent.

Jeanne Larsson, 45, the director of A Therapeutic Alternative, said the City Council made the right decision Tuesday.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Larsson said. “They’re not reacting – they’re not giving a knee-jerk reaction out of fear.”

Larsson said the city and dispensary operators have a lot of time and money invested in the process, and she has nothing but praise for council members for temporarily stepping back from the situation.

“I’m pretty confident they’re going to do the best they can to make it work,” Larsson said.

Katherine Wold, a dental hygienist from Elk Grove, said she believes an effort to shut down dispensaries would be unwise.

“I think it’s ridiculous if you are allowing people to use (marijuana) for medication and don’t allow a place for them to purchase it,” Wold said. “Not everyone wants to grow their own.”

Wold, 36, said she is personally opposed to legalizing marijuana, but said that, if it is legal, it makes sense to provide access to it.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with stopping and taking a closer look at any decision, though,” Wold said. “There’s always time for reflection to make good decisions.”

Some people who spoke about Tuesday’s City Council decision saw a larger issue with medical marijuana than simply a freeze on the permit process.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that once it’s legalized, the penalty for use will go from misdemeanors to felonies,” unemployed Sacramento resident Jay Cameron said. “It used to be just a little dispute, but now it’s a battleground for police and sheriffs.”

Cameron, 48, said that, since medical marijuana is such a “big moneymaker,” he believes it will become another way for the criminal justice system to profit.

“That’s the whole reason to get all those (dispensaries) shut down in town,” Cameron said. “It’s a moneymaker for the police who make arrests – they just need to get more bodies in their cells and more tickets to be paid.”

Between “big pharmaceutical companies” and “competing” police and sheriff forces in the city, Cameron said, “medical marijuana and dispensary operations are all about money.”

Joe Cole, a local printer account representative, said the subject is something he feels passionate about.

“I think (dispensaries are) being used more as a way to get marijuana through legal channels than just to get medicine,” Cole, 54, said. “There could be a better way (to get medical marijuana), but I don’t think these dispensaries are the way to do it.”

Cole said he feels an outright ban on dispensaries would be a better way to handle the current situation unless medical marijuana is fully legalized. In that case, Cole said, it should be dispensed through doctors, hospitals and pharmacies.

“I think the doctors (prescribing marijuana) right now are in cahoots with the dispensary operators,” Cole said.

Gary Harris, 27, said his father is a medical marijuana user who has seen positive results from the use of cannabis, so he has a personal interest in the subject.

Harris, a salesman at a local bed store, said that he believes the city would make a mistake to shut dispensaries down, so taking a “wait-and-see attitude” is a good idea.

“If you close down legal dispensaries and force (marijuana sales) underground, you put money into the hands of the guys with guns and grenades,” Harris said. “That policy won’t work.”

Harris said he’d like to see the situation resolved between the state and the federal government over medical marijuana.

In the meantime, Harris said, “the best course of action is no action.”

What is your opinion about medical marijuana dispensaries in the city? Should they be allowed to operate and be regulated? Or, should Sacramento follow in the footsteps of neighboring communities – like Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova – and move toward a complete ban on dispensaries?

Make a comment below this story – we’d like to hear from you.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Marijuana by the numbers

2011-11-15T04:47:14Z

Under heavy scrutiny from the federal government and an administrative freeze on the city’s permit program, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento could face a full ban – but if Sacramento’s dispensaries are shut down, what happens to the city budget bottom line?

In total, the city has received approximately $1.4 million since the start of the permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries – nearly $1 million from one-time fees – according to Maurice Chaney, Economic Development Department spokesman.

If the city were to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, they could see a potential $528,000 budget shortfall from reduced or eliminated marijuana business operations taxes in the 2011-12 fiscal year.

The rate of the business operations tax levied on dispensaries in the city is 4 percent. This is in addition to California sales tax that all businesses are required to pay to the state franchise Tax Board.

The total amount of revenue projected in the FY 2011-12 city budget from medical marijuana business operations taxes was $1 million. Taxes are paid quarterly, so the Finance Department estimated $250,000 in revenue each quarter of the current fiscal year.

The total first-quarter income to the city from medical marijuana business operations taxes was actually $361,000 – a surplus of $111,000. This reflects revenue received from July 1 to Sept. 30. Data for October is not available yet, Brad Wasson, revenue manager for the city Finance Department, said Monday.

Although the city has recouped the costs of the dispensary program for the initial year, possible budget impacts from a full ban – if one should be instituted in the near future – are hard to speculate, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams.

“If budget adjustments need to be made in the mid-year,” Williams said, “city staff will make recommendations to the City Council, and they will decide (how to proceed).”

Let’s take a look at the numbers across the board.

How many dispensaries are we talking about?
There were 39 registered medical marijuana dispensaries in the city in 2009. Only registered dispensaries were eligible to apply for the first phase of dispensary operations permits under a city ordinance passed in November 2010.

Each permit cost $5,000. This was a one-time permit application fee and it was only collected until February 2011. After the February deadline, no more initial permit applications were accepted.

The actual number of eligible dispensaries that applied for Phase 1 permits was 35 – bringing in a total of $175,000 in application fee revenue for fiscal year 2010-11, according to Wasson.

There are two phases in the city’s dispensary permit process and the second phase was only open to dispensary operators who satisfied the requirements of Phase 1 – no new applicants could come into the process at that time.

Finance Department staff estimated that, of the 35 dispensaries eligible to apply for the second phase, 25 would complete the application.

The actual number of Phase 2 permit applications received by the Oct. 11 deadline was 29.

How much money does the city receive from dispensaries?
The city Finance Department is responsible for the city’s medical marijuana dispensary operations program at a cost of $315,000 for a single fiscal year, according to Wasson.

Each dispensary pays an annual program fee of $12,600, starting with the submission of the Phase 2 permit application.

With 29 Phase 2 applications submitted, the actual amount of program fee revenue collected so far in FY 2011-12 is $302,000.

In addition to Phase 1 and Phase 2 operating permit applications, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento must also apply for special use permits through the city Zoning Department.

Each special use permit application fee ranges from $15,000 to $22,000, depending on the proposed location for the business and other determining factors, according to Wasson.

Thirty-eight dispensaries applied for special use permits, resulting in $651,000 of one-time application fee revenue for the city so far in FY 2011-12.

Because special use permit applications are one-time costs and this is the first year medical marijuana dispensaries have been allowed to apply for special use permits, Wasson said there was no projection for that revenue in the city budget.

“It’s a process that is already in place in the Zoning Department,” Wasson said. “Every business requiring a special use permit pays these fees, so the budget projection for that department isn’t specific to dispensary special use permits.”

The Finance Department prepares a mid-year budget update for the City Council in February, Wasson said. At that time, the department will make recommendations for any necessary adjustments to the city budget.

“It would be nice to report that we had a surplus (from business operations taxes),” Wasson said. “But at this point, we really don’t know what is going to happen.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Business group discusses change to county cannabis ordinance

2011-11-11T03:50:47Z

Instead of pursuing an ordinance to allow special permits for medical marijuana dispensary operations in the county, local business owners learned Thursday that county officials are taking steps to reinforce the current ban.

“The Board of Supervisors is headed in a direction to reinforce a stance that the county does not permit medical marijuana dispensaries,” Leighann Moffitt, principal planner with the Sacramento County Planning Department said Thursday.

A new section of the county zoning code is being proposed that specifically prohibits activity that violates federal or state law in any way.

Moffitt spoke to local business owners as a featured guest at the Arden Arcade Business Council monthly meeting Thursday.

Currently, the lack of a specific permit or zoning provision acts as a ban against dispensaries in the county.

The board considered creating an ordinance that allowed dispensaries to operate within the county, Moffitt said, but that was before the federal government’s recent emphasis on enforcing federal prohibitions against marijuana production, sale and distribution in the states.

Moffitt explained that the Supervisors have had a “change of direction,” and they are no longer pursuing any ordinance to permit or regulate dispensaries in the county.

The proposed ordinance change prohibits “any land use activity or establishment that contravenes either state or federal law or both.”

Moffitt said the new zoning code wording will go before the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors before the end of the year.

“I don’t know where this (issue) is going to go in the long run,” Moffitt said. “At one time, the board was willing to entertain the idea of permitting dispensaries, but that has clearly changed.”

Between local and federal enforcement activities, the number of dispensaries in the county was reduced from an estimated 60 to 13, Moffitt said.

Because dispensaries in the county are operating illegally, county staff previously could only estimate a total number of dispensaries, Moffitt said. Now that code enforcement has escalated, officers have been able to get a more precise count.

The proposed code changes sparked discussion among the audience about the scope of the new zoning code wording.

Burnie Lenau, a 53-year-old landscape architect in Sacramento, said the new ordinance will be too broad and could have unintended consequences.

“(The county’s) goal is to go after a selective fish,” Lenau said, “yet they’re casting this big net that is going to get a lot of different land uses encumbered by it.”

Lenau said he’s concerned about the status of medical marijuana dispensaries in the county because of the potential liability issues created from the use of medical marijuana.

“As an employer, do I want someone under that influence driving heavy machinery or driving a company vehicle?” he said. “That’s a real liability consideration for an employer.”

Lenau said he’s following the issue closely because county planning, zoning and business regulations are all issues that small business owners won’t know about unless they are really paying attention.

“I have to be engaged in (government process),” he said. “Right, wrong or indifferent, all these things affect my daily life as a business owner.”

Other concerns voiced by members of the business group related to potential legal action against landlords who rent space to medical marijuana dispensaries.

“There are conflicting state and federal laws on various things that the property owners have to deal with. If someone says, ‘You’re in violation, so you’re out of business...’ not every federal law has precedent over state law,” said Timothy Cahill, attorney and president of the Charles C. Bell, Inc. law firm.

“One of the threats that the federal government uses – a very real threat – is the possibility of forfeiting property,” Cahill said.

“Under Federal law, if something is considered contraband or if contraband is used in the process of business, (the federal government) can go ahead and take property,” Cahill said. “That’s a very serious threat to property owners.”

Moffitt said there have been some actions against property owners at the county level, but no property seizures.

“The overall objective is to close down illegal dispensaries, not to harm landlords,” Moffitt said.

Moffitt said the proposed ordinance changes will go to the Planning Commission Nov. 28 for discussion. If approved, the changes will move forward to the Board of Supervisors for approval in December.

The county Board of Supervisors regularly meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays at the County Administration Building, 700 H St.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Dispensary permit process gets a 'time out' from City Council

2011-11-09T06:07:57Z

The permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries came to a screeching halt Tuesday after the City Council adopted an interim city marijuana ordinance that puts applications on hold for nine months.

The unanimous vote to approve the ordinance came as a reaction to recent changes in the federal government’s position on enforcing marijuana regulations.

Greg Bitter, principal planner with the city’s Community Development Department, told council members Tuesday that the city attorney became concerned with the current Sacramento medical marijuana ordinance after learning about two legal situations – a court case in Long Beach and a press release from the four state attorneys general.

The Second District Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 1 that an ordinance in Long Beach – very similar to the one in Sacramento – was preempted by federal law, Bitter said.

“As long as this court case is the published decision, it effectively puts our ordinance at risk,” Bitter said.

The public announcement by the attorneys general stating that they were increasing enforcement efforts in California against for-profit dispensaries also “put cities on notice,” Bitter said.

“We’re not on solid legal ground at this point,” Bitter added.

At the end of the Oct. 11 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy requested city staff to draft amendments to the city ordinance in an effort to “buy everyone some time” while the city took stock of the discrepancies between federal and local government enforcement of medical marijuana laws.

City staff took immediate action to freeze the processing of applications for medical marijuana dispensary permits, according to a city staff report, and the interim ordinance is the initial result.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist with California Capitol Solutions, which represents several dispensaries in the city, said Tuesday that all of his clients are committed to working with the city.

“We support the decision to create a time-out as the dust settles on the issue of where the federal government stands on the issue,” Del Real said Tuesday. “Sacramento is not retreating form medical cannabis, nor is it turning its back on a successful (city) ordinance.”

The interim ordinance required a two-thirds vote and was approved in a 9–0 vote.

The City Council also passed formal amendments to the city ordinance to address timing conflicts with permits created by the freeze.

The city zoning code requires applicants for a special permit to be in operation within 90 days from the date the permit is issued. Because of the freeze, however, special permits are not being issued – putting dispensary operators in jeopardy of having their permit applications revoked when the 90 days runs out.

The newly amended ordinance resolves these timing conflicts by extending the previous Oct. 11 deadline to apply for Phase 2 dispensary permits to May 14, 2012, and extending the final permit completion date from Jan. 9, 2012 to Aug. 13, 2012.

The amended ordinance states that any dispensary operator who has already filed a proper permit application – and the application has not been denied – may continue to operate that dispensary without a permit until Aug. 13, 2012 while the application approval or denial is pending.

The amended ordinance doesn’t mean that dispensaries are not subject to the law in the meantime, however.

The ordinance clarifies that continuing to operate a dispensary during the “time-out” period does not automatically entitle the operator to an approved permit or grant the dispensary “legal nonconforming use.”

“Law-abiding collectives and their dispensaries welcome regulation and welcome fee structures,” Del Real said, “because, at the end of the day, they are following the law.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn voted in support of the council’s action Tuesday.

“We could see this going back to the back alleys, and I’d hate to see that,” Cohn said. “Cannabis patients don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

Tuesday’s vote did not come without opposition. Sixteen public speakers commented on the proposed changes, and some asked council members to reconsider the action.

“I know that you see green in all the green of medical marijuana, but I’m asking you to put a stop allowing the dispensaries,” said Greg Foster, 52, a criminal defense attorney.

“I am the parent of a son who started smoking marijuana because of the dispensaries,” Foster said. “I believe the notion of medical marijuana and not-for-profit are a fraud.”

Councilman Darrell Fong said he took issue with how medical marijuana dispensaries are being handled in the city.

“I’m not saying medical marijuana doesn’t have its place,” Fong said, “but federal law does preempt state law, whether I like it or not, and that is my issue.”

Fong said he has received complaints from constituents in his district about the ease of getting marijuana, especially with dispensaries located close to schools and parks.

The current city ordinance sets a distance requirement for dispensary locations of 600 feet from schools and public parks. Federal drug violation guidelines specify a minimum distance of 1,000 feet.

According to Bitter, a majority – 18 out of 28 – registered dispensaries in Sacramento are located within that 1,000-foot boundary.

Del Real said that, despite opposition, the City Council’s decision to temporarily freeze the application process is the right thing to do.

“No one knows what the feds are trying to accomplish,” Del Real said. “The politics – and the practicality – of it is that the city has to extend the deadline to allow for all the permits to continue while they assess where things stand.”

“The city is not pushing the eject button,” Del Real added. “They’re just pushing pause.”

The interim ordinance takes effect immediately. The formal revised ordinance will be adopted by the City Council Nov. 15.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Pot parties in Sacramento: A fund-raiser, a farewell, a fright

2011-10-26T22:41:15Z

Two cannabis-themed events with “frightful” overtones are planned for Saturday night at two Sacramento medical cannabis dispensaries. One event is a fund-raiser for a group of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. The other event marks a dispensary’s closure as Sacramento County and the federal government put the scare on the industry.

At Common Roots Collective in south Sacramento, the cannabis activist group Americans for Safe Access hosts “Puff Puff Politics.” According to ASA’s flyer for the event, “It’s like a wine tasting but with cannabis.” Three top medical strains will be tasted, and cannabis activists will lead discussions between tastings. There’ll even be a silent auction of jack o’ lanterns carved in cannabis themes.

Tickets are $50 per person; you can buy them online. Attendees are promised swag bags of goodies. Bhang, the top-tier cannabis chocolatier, is among the sponors. The promoter told me today that other sponors, speakers and tasting panelists won’t be revealed until Friday.

Americans for Safe Access is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. Common Roots is like a farmers market collective, with licensed cannabis growers offering their products directly to patients. No grams over $10. Commom Roots offers art therapy and yoga, and has hosted reggae bands and an African dance troupe in its large warehouse space, which has been blessed by a shamanic healer.

The Farmers Market could use some healing juju. The medical cannabis dispensary on the edge of the old Mather Field in Sacramento County is throwing a party on Saturday night, but instead of raising funds with a frightful holiday event, The Farmers Market, like many medical cannabis dispensaries, is being scared out of operation. Saturday’s customer appreciation party will be The Farmers Market’s last — its last party and its last day of business before it switches to a delivery-only business model.

I had the pleasure of attending The Farmers Market’s two previous customer appreciation parties in the past month. Both were fun and informative, featuring food — grilled hot dogs and polish sausage one night, a do-it-your-self nacho bar the other night — and soft drinks and snacks. One event featured edibles makers who not only offered samples of their products but offered insight into infusing cannabis into water — a simple prodedure with powerful effects. Of course, both nights offered heavy doses of bonhomie — people talking, sharing, enjoying themselves and enjoying each other’s company, the things that happen in clean, comfortable social settings. Many people were enjoying cannabis — in joints, in pipes, and vaporized in elaborate bongs that cried out to be shared, if only for their conversation-piece value.

The Farmers Market bills Saturday’s event as a Harvest Party. But, really, given the cannabis crackdown, the party marks anything but a harvest. What Sacramento County is doing — spitting in the face of a voter-approved state initiative, turning its back on jobs and tax revenue — amounts to burning your fields in the face of famine. What the federal governent is doing — withholding cannabis research approval, threatening to seize property and prosecute landowners, ensuring ever-larger profits for the pharmaceuticals industry — is a fright worth fighting.

Puff Puff Politics, a fund-raiser for Americans for Safe Access: Oct. 29, 7 p.m.-midnight, Common Roots Collective, 3039 52nd Ave., Unit B, Sacramento. Tickets: $50.

The Farmers Market Harvest Party, 7 p.m.-midnight, 3791 Bradview Drive, Sacramento.

Disclosure: Ed Murrieta is publisher of PotAppetit.com.

Feds crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries

2011-10-13T06:28:10Z

Local medical marijuana dispensaries recently came under fire as the federal government began cracking down on illegal marijuana growing and dispensing operations across the nation.

But wait – medical marijuana is legal in California, right? Yes and no.

In the wake of a June 2011 memo sent to state attorney generals from the Department of Justice warning of the federal government’s intention to shut down illegal marijuana operations, there have been numerous raids on dispensaries in California.

Some local operators have received warning letters that they may be next.

“Joanne,” a dispensary operator in Sacramento who wants to remain anonymous, said Wednesday that local operators have always known the federal government might intervene.

“There’s never been a promise that it wouldn’t happen,” Joanne said. “Everyone is on high alert now.”

Under federal law, the production, distribution and use of marijuana for any purpose is illegal.

Exceptions have been made, however.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Study program allowing a select handful of patients to use marijuana for medical purposes.

The program was closed to new applicants in 1992, largely due to a huge increase in applications from AIDS patients. After the program was closed, 13 patients already in the program were allowed to continue. Of those, four currently remain on the program.

In California, a statewide voter initiative – Proposition 215, known as the Compassionate Use Act – was passed in 1996 by 56 percent of the voters, allowing medical access to marijuana for seriously ill patients.

As of 2011, 16 states have medical marijuana laws on the books that recognize a medicinal value for marijuana. California is one of them.

Despite state laws popping up across the nation, the federal law has remained unchanged – marijuana use for any purpose is still illegal.

In 2007, as Barack Obama was campaigning for president of the United States, he stated his support of legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. However, until it was legalized, Obama said, he wouldn’t use federal resources to enforce the federal law.

A memo from the Department of Justice followed in October 2009, reiterating that the DOJ wouldn’t focus federal resources on prosecuting “individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws” for the medical marijuana use.

Although the memo did not “legalize” marijuana, it opened the floodgates for dispensary operators to open shop in states that had laws on the books allowing medical marijuana use.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist for the Sacramento Alliance of County Collectives (SACC), a medical cannabis trade association, said in a July interview that there were approximately 45 to 65 medical marijuana dispensaries operating in Sacramento county at that time – but that number was just an estimate since none of those operations were permitted through county administration.

According to a city staff report, when the city enacted its medical marijuana ordinance in November 2010, there were already 39 registered medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the city.

A new influx of dispensaries – including some large-scale, industrial marijuana cultivation centers with revenue projections in the millions of dollars – quickly caught the attention of the DOJ.

In an attempt to curtail this potential profiteering, U.S. Attorney General James M. Cole released the June memo stating that the DOJ would use federal resources to prosecute illegal marijuana cultivation, distribution and use – including marijuana for medicinal purpose.

“The Ogden (Memo) was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law,” Cole stated.

Hence, the DOJ was essentially saying that state laws regarding the legalization of medicinal marijuana are irrelevant when it comes to the prosecution of marijuana growers, sellers and distributors.

Ryan Landers, director for the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis, said he disagrees with the DOJ’s stance on medical marijuana, calling the recent enforcement actions of the Department of Justice “heavy-handed” and unnecessary.

“The genie’s out of the bottle, and the Feds are trying to shove it back in,” Landers said. “We could achieve the same thing through regulation instead of direct attack.”

Despite the recent focus on prosecuting dispensaries by the federal government, Sgt. Andrew Pettit, Sacramento Police Department spokesman, said that the department isn’t “cracking down” on dispensaries.

“We don’t have a narcotics team,” Pettit said. “Our concern with (dispensary operators) is only that they follow the regulations.”

Pettit said the department has specific protocols to follow when an operator is in violation of any local ordinance, and police officers will turn those cases over to the District Attorney.

Joanne said that it’s the “opportunists” that break the rules, doing harm to the industry and harm to the patients.

“There some bad apples out there, yes,” Joanne said. “But it isn’t the industry as a whole. The few that break the rules make the rest of us look bad.”

Still, Joanne said the DOJ raids are not necessarily a bad thing.

“It’s going to be a good thing when the dust clears,” Joanne said. “It will make the industry better, and the grey areas a little less grey.”

Calls for comment to the Department of Justice and the state Attorney General’s Office were not returned by press time.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA TIMELINE
1978 – Federal court rules in favor of a glaucoma patient’s use of medical marijuana in Randall v. U.S.

1978 – President Jimmy Carter signs the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Study program

1992 – President George H. W. Bush closes the CIND program to new applicants. Only four individuals remain in the program.

1996 – California voters pass the Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215), legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

2001 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that state and federal laws do not need to conform with each other.

2007 – Presidential candidate Barack Obama states support of medical marijuana legalization, and assures voters he will not use any federal resources to enforce the current federal law.

2008 – The California legislature passes Senate Bill 420 (SB420), instituting a statewide medical marijuana ID card program.

2008 – Attorney General Jerry Brown clarifies state medical marijuana guidelines, requiring dispensaries to become collective nonprofit organizations.

May 2009 – The city of Sacramento enacts an ordinance to allow dispensary operators to apply for special operating permits within the city.

October 2009 – The Ogden Memo is released from the Department of Justice reiterating that federal resources will not be used to enforce current federal laws against medical marijuana users.

June 2011 – The Cole Memo is released from the Department of Justice stating that federal resources will be used to enforce current federal laws prohibiting marijuana production, distribution and use.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Combat vet with PTSD soldiers on against county's cannabis war

2011-10-12T19:40:52Z

With more than $5,000 in code violations and the threatened closure of two adacent businesses, Johnny Zonneveld, a U.S. Marines combat veteran who uses medical cannabis to battle post-traumatic stress disorder, conceded a skirmish in Sacramento County’s war on medical cannabis dispensaries and closed Sunnyfields Collective on Thursday.

Sunnyfields joins One Solution, City of Trees, California Holistic Care, Citizen Collective, The Reserve, PACC Wellness, All Natural Solutions and Fort Kush among the confirmed casualties in the $1 million war that Sacramento County is borrowing to wage on medical cannabis dispensaries.

The story of former infantryman and dispensary owner Johnny Zonneveld sounds like a 21st century Catch-22:

Zonneveld said he was fined, on zoning violations, for operating a type of business that Sacramento County does not recognize and will not permit.

“In violation of operating a medical cannabis dispensary,” Zonneveld said. “Non-permitted use, basically. Nusiance.”

Then Zonneveld said he was fined, on building code violations, when he constructed a wall inside the dispensary without a permit from the county, which would not issue such a permit to a business that does not already have a permit to operate as a legally recognized business.

Zonneveld recalled his trip to Sacramento County’s building department.

“I wanted a permit to construct a wall,” he said.

“The guy from the county said, ‘What’s your use?’

“I told him straight-up what I was doing.

“He said, ‘You’re never gonna get that approved.’

“I said, OK, I’ll take the fines for the walls.”

After fines topped $5,000, Zonneveld retreated.

“I couldn’t pay my employees,” he said. “We just couldn’t stay open.”

Zonneveld threw his 8-month-old medical cannabis dispensary on a grenade. The survivors include a tattoo parlor and a liquor store in a ramshackle 1950s-era strip mall on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

“It’s partially why I decided not to mess with the county,” Zonneveld said. “There are two other businessiness there. Basically, if you have a building code violation in a building, they can close that building down because it’s considered a safety hazard. The landlord wasn’t willing to fix the different things that are wrong with the building, and the county wouldn’t approve the permit for me to get things up to code.”

Zonneveld, who served in the Marines infantry and performed tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2000 to 2004, is preparing a new front:

Sunnyfields Collective, Zonneveld said, will continue to dispense medical cannabis to qualified patients — but only by appointment and only to existing patients or to new patients who are referred by existing patients.

“We have a private location that members can come to,” Zonneveld said. “But we’re not advertising we have a storefront. We’re not advertising as a delivery service either.”

Zonneveld said he’s not deterred by the county.

“I don’t really care what the hell the county thinks of it now,” Zonneveld said. “I’m not doing this for the county. I’m doing this for the people who need cannabis.”

Zonneveld said Sunnyfields' patients include more than 200 military veterans, most of whom suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder related to their service.

“Basically," Zonneveld said, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is "telling me what I’m doing is wrong or illegal yet Prop. 215 passed in 1996 and 15 years after the law actually passed they still don’t have an ordinance written. That means they haven’t done their job. If anybody should get any kind of fine for doing something illegal, it should be the county Board of Supervisors for not doing their jobs, for not doing what the voters actually voted for.”

Sunnyfields Collective
sunnyfieldsgrow.org
916-572-7213

Disclosure: Ed Murrieta is publisher of PotAppetit.com.

Dispensary closures mount in Sacramento County's cannabis crackdown

2011-10-12T19:11:15Z

A former Assistant U.S. Attorney speaking in favor of the federal government’s pot pogrom said recently that a letter from the U.S. Attorney warning medical cannabis dispensaries and the landlords who rent to them is a good thing.

“This letter is the best news that marijuana growers have ever received from the federal government because this letter is a courtesy that most people don’t get,” Bill Portanova said.

In the courtesy vein, but on the opposite side of the battle, Auburn Health & Organics, one of scores of medical cannabis dispensaries operating without the required permits that Sacramento County refuses to issue in the first place, is giving its patients the courtesy of a heads-up:

The sign on the front door of Auburn Health & Organics says the medical cannabis dispensary will close Nov. 15.

So far, here’s an unofficial tally of confirmed closures in Sacramento County's code-enforcement crackdown on medical cannabis dispensaries:

Sunnyfields on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

One Solution on Madison Avenue.

City of Trees on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

California Holistic Care on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

Fort Kush on Florin Road.

The Reserve on Fulton Avenue.

Citizen Collective on El Camino Avenue.

PACC Wellness on Auburn Boulevard.

All Natural Solutions on El Camino Avenue.

Disclosure: Ed Murrieta is the publisher of PotAppetit.com

Ganja Today, Gone Tomorrow? Dispensary Darwinism and Pot Pogroms

2011-10-06T23:20:07Z

Once upon a time, when I was a restaurant critic in a second city in a bad economy, I chased restaurants -- the delayed openings, the quick closures, the inspections in between, the cooks who served good food vs. the operators in it for a buck. It put a taste in my mouth.

Today, in the state capital of medical cannabis in an even worse economy, I spend a lot of time chasing medical cannabis dispensaries -- not the ones that advertise themselves openly and regularly in Sacramento's newspapers, keep regular hours of operation and work hard to make themselves part of the Camellia City's community, but the ones that don't advertise themselves to the public, or maybe do once or twice to mark turf and then disappear, maybe belly-up unsuccessful or maybe high-tailed underground; sometimes, there is no telling.

Medical cannabis directories -- from online sources like Weedmaps and Sticky Guide to magazines like Kush and West Coast Cannabis, and even some pages of Pot Appetit that need housekeeping -- are dotted with the littered listings of dispensaries no longer in operation for reasons legal or extra-legal.

The reality is this:

More medical cannabis dispensaries will close, disappear, cease to exist. It's simple econmics.

The market is saturated in Sacramento -- 39 in the city and, depending on which source or rumor or day of the week you can cite, there are anywhere from 50 to 70 dispensaries in Sacramento County.

Some medical cannabis dispensaries are fantastic. They offer great cannabis at good prices. Some treat their patients as well as Nordstrom and Les Schwab treat their customers. And many, like now-shuttered One Solution, which donated backpacks with classroom supplies to schoolchildren, particpate in community events.

In no particular order (and with apologies to any good dispensaries I overlook here in my quest to keep this paragraph pithy), I tip my bong to: The Farmers Market, Grass, El Camino Wellness, Arcade Wellness, Fruitridge Health and Wellness, All About Wellness, 1 Love, Unity, Northstar, River City Wellness, Alternative Medical Source, The Green Door, Magnolia Wellness, Nor-Cali Creations, MediZen and whatever name the former Mary Jane's Wellness adopts after it was sold after the federal government seized money from its bank account, alleging the dispensary tried to hide profits.

Drug den is a gross overstatement describing the worst dispensaries. However, thug den aptly applies to a number.

I had a discussion recently with an operator of a dispensary in Midtown Sacramento. We compared his dispensary to another dispensary nearby. That dispensary, he said, serves 5 times the number of patients he serves in a day. That dispensary, we agreed, has a better location -- greater visibility, parking, nearby public transportation. Still, he said, he couldn't understand why the other dispensary is more successful. Then the dispensary operated allowed, "Maybe I need to offer better medicine."

There you go:

Dispensary Darwinism dawning.

Local politicians and the federal government will pick at the remainder.

In Sacramento County code-enforcement inspectors are visiting medical cannabis dispensaries. Some dispensaries are now out of business on building code violations. While the county borrows more than $1 million to shut down dispensaries, there’s still a county ordinance kicking around. Dispensaries, their lawyers and their lobbyists have presented their cases to the county in a series of stakeholder meetings. The dispensary discussion has now been dispersed among 14 community action committees throughout the county. Those committees will hear input from the community and dispensaries before making a recommendation to the county board of supervisors, which is borrowing substantially and spending $1 million to eliminate dispensaries while Oakland collects $360,483 in tax revenue from just one dispensary -- Harborside, arguably the most successful and high-profile dispensary in America.

Meanwhile, the federal government seized bank assets, of the aforementioned former Mary Jane's Wellness and 1 Love. The IRS says Harborside -- and, therefore, all other dispensaries -- can't take standard deductions every other business in America can claim. The IRS says Harborside owes $2.5 million, a move medical cannabis activists call a death tax. U.S. Attorneys are circulating letters threatening to seize property of California landlords who rent to medical cannabis dispensaries.

Meantime, I've got a taste in my mouth that the skunkiest sativa can't cure.

Disclosure: Ed Murrieta is the publisher of PotAppetit.com.

Taste-Testing Sacramento's Po' Boys of Pot: $3 Joints

2011-08-25T08:41:12Z

Joint. Spliff. Pre-roll. By any name, it’s arguably the most known and widely recognized vehicle associated with smoking pot.

It’s certainly the most convenient.

It’s portable.

It’s easy to share — making it a truly social medium.

You can even eat one — as medicine, of course — if it comes to that.

And talk about portion control: You can cut a joint in half, thirds, quarters, smoke a bit and save the rest for later.

Some joints have enough pot packed in them that you can re-roll their contents into two joints. Now that’s value.

In Sacramento medical marijuana dispensaries, joints sell for as little as $2.50 each to as much as $15 each; doobies are doled out as patient rewards; and, at least one dispensary, fatties are flat-out free, one per day just for showing up.

On the theory that joints are like calling cards — If a dispensary can’t roll a decent joint, what’s a pot patron to think of a dispensary’s other offerings? — I’m firing up a new feature on Pot Appetit: The Best Joints in Town. I’m starting today with the lowest price points: $3 or less, or the po’ boys of pot.

My Ganga Grail: The Low-Cost High

Advice traditionally given to any writer applies to one who reviews pot: Write what you know. I know how to live well on a low budget. Except for whatever gratis ganga I score from dispensaries’ first-one-is-free introductory offers, I’ve been medicating and relaxing with $3 joints almost exclusively since the big bag of trim I brought with me from Humboldt in April ran out in June.

I purchased — or didn’t purchase in the case of River City Wellness’ gimme doobies, but I’ll get to that — all the joints at Sacramento medical marijuana dispensaries over the past month and pretty much right up until deadline.

ARCADE WELLNESS: $3. Strain-specific straight joints rolled from bud. I fell in love with my first Fire OG joints — the fluffy, finely ground bud smoked sweet and piney, inducing a heavy-lidded, good-night’s-sleep. Then along came Green Crack, a bright-tasting, smooth and cerebral sativa that made me forget about Facebook and focus on work. Both strains were rolled fat, weighing on the heavy side of a gram each. In fact, Arcade’s joints require a little schmusching with the fingers to loosen the tight pack and work up some space for air to flow through the joint so you can take a good toke. Or do what I’ve been doing: rip ‘em open, re-roll ‘em and savor two good joints for a buck-fifty a pop. Arcade Wellness: 4210 El Camino Ave., Sacramento.

GRASS: $3. Easily the prettiest cheap-date joint in town — a cone-shaped joint in the sexy pre-rolled European-style paper fitted with a thin cardboard filter tip. Unfortunately, as I learned from my roller-coaster affair with the couteur-wearing love of my life who wasn’t, it’s what’s inside that’s most important. Grass is up-front about the contents of its $3 joints being shake of no specific provenance — it says so on the menu board. And I regularly purchase and smoke them knowing there’s a good chance I’ll suffer a coughing fit or two before enjoying a non-fitful night’s sleep. You can look good and feel good, even if it’s not the smoothest relationship. Grass: 2014 10th St., Sacramento.

MEDIZEN COLLECTIVE: $3. Rolled from what two MediZen budtenders told me are bud crumbles and the dusty remains from jars of specific strains whose names they just couldn’t recall when I’ve purchased them, I continue to enjoy MediZen’s straight joints way more than its, cough, customer service. MediZen Collective: 2201 Northgate Blvd., Sacramento.

CAPITAL CITY HEALTH & WELLNESS: $2.50. Rolled from various bud crumbles and leavings from the bottoms of jars on display. I bought two straight joints on my first visit in mid-July (an edible was the first-time-free offer). Both smoked harshly. I wasn’t sure which gave me bigger coughing fits: that there’s a pot dispensary next door to the Buggy Whip, a restaurant that was old-school when your grandma was young, or these joints. To be fair, I tried to give these joints the restaurant critic’s three-visit courtesy, but in two subsequent return visits a week apart, Capital City was out of joints both times. Given gas costs, the tipping point’s been tipped for me and Capital City’s $2.50 joints. Capital City Health & Wellness: 2721 Fulton Ave., Sacramento.

RIVER CITY WELLNESS: Free. Rolled from a mix of what can be charitably called hippie lettuce — you can’t hide straw-colored stems poking through the paper — these straight joints are available for free, one per patient per day, no questions asked, even if one blacked-gloved budtender did give me the stink-eye when I said to him, “I’m here just for the free joint today.” River City used to advertise that a chunk of hash came in the bag with each joint — a nice amount to re-roll the joint with and help mellow out what can be a harsh and heavy smoke — but the last three freebies I picked up were hashless. On the sweet side, River City’s Northgate location consistently has offered free lemonade and sandwich cookies each time I’ve visited. River City Wellness: 3830 Northgate Blvd., Sacramento.

COMING SOON: THE BEST JOINTS IN TOWN — $5 – $8
Got a favorite joint at a particular dispensary? Let me know in the comments section. I may include your choices in future installments of The Best Joints in Town.

Disclosure: Ed Murrieta is a restaurant critic-turned-pot critic who produces PotAppetit.com.

Pedaling for Pot in Sacramento: Like Amsterdam on the American River

2011-08-19T21:56:21Z

If you’re a medical marijuana patient and a bicycle enthusiast, Sacramento is the perfect place to combine your quests for medicine and exercise — kind of like those popular pedaling pub crawls, but without the drunkards.

With more than three dozen dispensaries in the city and twice that number in the county, Sacramento bicyclists pedal past a plethora of places peddling pot to Prop. 215 patients.

Cruising Midtown and downtown on your fat-tired cruiser? There are 12 dispensaries you can bike to, half of which are on designated bike routes that cross-hatch The Grid. Easy rides, all of them.

Touring the American River Bike Trail on your Cannondale? From Old Sacramento to Folsom Lake, there are 19 dispensaries, not counting those in The Grid, that are quarter-mile- to 3-mile rides from access points along the 32-mile trail. Extend your off-the-trail trek to 5 miles and there’ll be 5 more dispensaries (see sidebar The Harder They Ride).

What’s the payoff for all this exertion, the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the ridebow?

There’s the exercise, of course. And by riding your bike, you’re staying green while buying green bud. How about picking up some non-psychoactive pot-infused salves, creams and oils for the aching muscles you’ll have after some rides? Or perhaps partake of Prop. 215 perks like free massages and chiropractic sessions that some dispensaries provide in the name of wellness?

What if you work up an appetite during your rides? I’ve mapped out foodie pit stops. Sunflower Drive-In — home of nutburgers, fresh fruit smoothies and chickens free-ranging the parking lot — is worth a trip on the trail — pedaling for pot or just pedaling. For you locavore pot pedalers, how about two local produce farms? You’re welcome.

Need more diversions? Parks? Museums? Sacramento has those, too. While you won’t experience anything close to the “Starry Night” visions you can have staring at Van Gogh’s work while eating space cake in Amsterdam, the thick swooshes of frosting on the Wayne Thiebaud cake paintings that hang in the Crocker Art Museum — just a hop off the bike trail promenade south of Old Sacramento — gain delicious new dimension if you’ve nibbled on a medical marijuana edible.

Which brings us, at last, to medicating while pedaling for pot.

Should you?

Should you always wear your helmet when you ride?

Should you not ride your hipster cruiser on sidewalks?

I’m not your mother or the bike police.

You know the effects of medical marijuana on your system better than anyone does.

You say those pre-ride bong hits ease your asthma?

Certainly.

When you hit Pipe Bridge — the silver span crosses the American River on the bike trail east of 16th Street heading to or from downtown — you may very well be tempted, but caveat pot pedaler:

You can be ticketed for toking and biking.

Read the rest of the story at PotAppetit.com

Warren G and Comics Pre-Func Hempfest at Sacramento Pot Dispensaries

2011-08-19T16:48:14Z

Hempfest Sacramento begins its inaugural three-day run today at the Rio Ramaza RV park on the Sacramento River just across the Sutter County line, and some of the performers are getting on their pre-func at Sacramento medical marijuana dispensaries today.

Long Beach rapper Warren G, who performs today and Saturday at Hempfest, will make an in-dispensary appearance at Fort Kush, 6150 Florin Road, some time today. Call 916-424-2566 for details. He’s scheduled to appear at Hempfest at 4:20 p.m. today, so do the math or make the call for the exact time.

Also today, comics from the Chronic Laughter Show, including Sacramento-based stand-up Mike Sinclair, will perform at River City Wellness (3830 Northgate Blvd., 916-736-MEDS) from 4 to 8 p.m.

Comedy isn’t all that River City offers for free. All patients receive a free house joint, one per day, just for the asking, plus lemonade, cookies and a comfortable waiting room.

Disclosure: This story originally appeared on Ed Murrieta's PotAppetit.com.

First Annual Hempfest Sacramento

2011-08-16T03:40:03Z

Medical marijuana awareness will reach its peak in Sacramento and Sutter counties this weekend as the Freedom Entertainment Group presents the inaugural Hempfest Sacramento.

The purpose of the event is to “promote awareness and to educate the uneducated on the purposes and benefits of cannabis,” said Kristina Wheeler, event organizer for the festival.

The three-day festival will take place at the Rio Ramaza Marina, RV & Event Park in south Sutter County. The 14-acre marina is complete with an outside dance floor, misting fans and plenty of shade and is known for hosting zydeco music, pirate festivals and Louisiana-style food-and-music-themed events.

The location also offers a two-night-stay campsite for those who wish to camp along the river. The campsite has 75 tent spaces at $30 per night, and each campsite can only accommodate one vehicle.

Wheeler said that she and the other organizers chose the location because of the atmosphere of the marina and the added perk of being right next to the Sacramento River.

Susan Ramon, event coordinator for the marina, said that she didn’t give Hempfest organizers an answer at first.

“I had to kind of check into it,” the 63-year old said. “This is from a person who had no knowledge at all on the subject. I couldn’t make an informed decision.”

After researching information about medical marijuana and the success of past festivals held in other counties, she agreed to hold the festival on the marina’s grounds.

“We wanted to do something fun and educational,” Wheeler said, speaking for the Freedom Entertainment Group. The group organizes large events for clients, but conceived this one on its own, Wheeler said.

Tickets are $20 a day, or $40 for the full weekend. They will be $25 a day or $50 for the weekend if bought at the gate.Attendees can buy the tickets early online or from specified locations on the website.

The festival will host to about 50 vendors, including medical marijuana dispensaries, food and beverages, massage booths, clothing and hemp products, as well as about 13 performers throughout the weekend, including Warren G., Flesh-N-Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ditch, Normal Bean Band, Selekta Lou, several DJs and others.

Beer and wine will be sold at the festival in a designated area.

Highlights of the weekend will include a 215 Medication Zone – a separate smoking section only open to those who have a cannabis card, a VIP after party open to cannabis card holders, informational booths on the legal protocol behind the medicinal uses of marijuana and growing it at home, as well as cooking demonstrations for alternative methods of self-medicating.

“Some cancer patients can’t smoke or take pills,” Ramon said, “but what a wonderful thing when someone can suck on a lollipop and get a little relief.”

Each day will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. unless attendees have a special wristband. A cannabis card is required to enter the VIP after party. VIP tickets will be on sale at the festival for $50.

For those who don’t have a cannabis card, there will be clinics and doctors available to issue on-site cannabis cards.

Wheeler said that there will be no sales of cannabis or edibles at the event, but those with verified cannabis cards will be allowed to bring their own medicinals as long as they stay in the designated 215 area.

1 Love Wellness Center – one of the many dispensaries attending the event – will be handing out pamphlets concerning the medicinal benefits of cannabis, the kinds of ailments cannabis targets, and informational materials on how to apply for a cannabis card.

“Socially, it’s becoming more accepted, but there are people who are still skeptical, and we hope to be able to inform them. This event will be more educational than anything,” said Ryan Chua, marketing manager for the 1 Love Wellness Center.

“I think some people will be enlightened, and some will be outraged,” Ramon said. What’s most important for the festival, she added, is the containment, legality and accountability.

“We are taking every measure to ensure safety,” Wheeler said, adding that there will be security at the event, though only as a precaution.

Wheeler said they are expecting about 10,000 attendees for the weekend.

Though many are expected, traffic is the only potential problem Ramon said she anticipates. Shuttles will be running up and down Garden Highway, she said, from the nearest hotel to the festival, to eliminate much of the traffic in the area.

The biggest hope for the festival, Wheeler said, “I hope it brings the community together and that people against it get that knowledge before they judge it."

For more information on the inaugural Hempfest Sacramento, visit the website.

Medical marijuana industry wants an ordinance 'everyone can live with'

2011-07-08T01:50:13Z

A proposed urgency ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries within the county was voted down by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors June 22, but the issue is far from dead in the water.

Representatives of dispensary owners are speaking out in support of regulation that recognizes medical cannabis as a legitimate industry that is here to stay.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist for the Sacramento Alliance of County Collectives (SACC), a medical cannabis trade association, spoke at the board meeting in June in opposition to the failed ordinance.

“The county had proposed an ordinance that would essentially close down all of the dispensaries in the county,” Del Real said. “They had a very short-sighted view of the issue.”

Del Real said that there are anywhere from 45 to 65 medical marijuana dispensaries currently operating in the county, but that number is just an estimate since the operations are not registered or permitted through county administration.

All dispensaries operating in the county are considered non-permitted businesses because the county does not currently offer a permit or license for this type of business.

“Code enforcement officials have said there are more than 50 (dispensaries in the county), based on the complaints they’ve responded to,” Del Real said, “but our informal research has found many more than that.”

Members of the SACC want to see the county to adopt an ordinance similar to the one the city of Sacramento adopted in 2010, Del Real said.

Del Real was part of a team of cannabis industry stakeholders who worked with city officials in 2008 and 2009 to develop the ordinance that is now in place with the city.

“It’s the leading model (of regulation) in the state,” Del Real said, “because it works.”

The current city ordinance includes requirements for registration with city officials, enhanced security at the dispensary and limited hours of operation, among other requirements, all intended to maintain order and ensure public health and safety.

The failed county ordinance, Del Real said, included a ban on the sale of edible products, no outdoor cultivation in all of the county, and a restriction that dispensaries could not be located within 600 feet of any residential-zoned area.

“I think (the county) was getting bad advice,” Del Real said. “They were getting incomplete advice, and their initial study fell short.”

Early in 2011, county supervisors began to recognize a “proliferation” of dispensaries in the county, Del Real said, so they directed staff to study local medical marijuana issues and return with an ordinance proposal for the board to consider.

Del Real said the task force that staff relied upon to help develop the county ordinance did not include any industry input – a factor that Del Real said is crucial to the process.

“They’re not the experts; we are,” Del Real said. “Allow us, as business owners and business supporters to educate (them) on this subject, and we can come up with something everyone can live with.”

Del Real said dispensary owners in Sacramento County are ready and willing to accept an ordinance that mimics the city ordinance.

“It’s a golden opportunity for the county in terms of potential revenue, too,” Del Real said. “Why would they walk away from that?”

The current city ordinance limits the number of dispensaries within city limits, and applicants for the required special use permits are charged a $40,000 application fee plus a $12,000 annual permit fee.

Read more about city medical marijuana fees here.

Additionally, in November 2010, voters passed Measure C, which successfully introduced a 4 percent sales tax on the gross receipts of all dispensaries in Sacramento.

The city has projected $1.5 million in revenue for the 2011-12 fiscal year from that tax measure.

Del Real estimates that, if the county would adopt a similar ordinance to the city one, it would mean roughly $4 million – or more – directed to the county coffers.

“In these economic times, we need good news,” Del Real said. “The good news here is medical cannabis. The county needs to recognize that.”

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet July 27 to hear staff reports on new ordinance proposals for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.

County representatives say a final decision will likely not be made at that meeting, and the process may actually take a few months to complete.

The meeting of the county board of supervisors will be at the County Administration building, 700 H St., at 9:30 a.m.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Most medical pot shops meet deadline

2011-02-10T01:50:51Z

Nearly all of Sacramento's medical marijuana dispensaries have applied to keep operating legally under new city regulations.

City revenue staff have begun processing documents from 35 dispensaries that submitted applications under the city's first ordinance regulating the not-for-profit shops. Dispensaries with pending applications can continue operating until Jan. 9, 2012, under the regulations.

Four of the city's 39 registered medical marijuana dispensaries didn't turn in applications by a Monday deadline, said city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson.

"We're going to regulate this pretty extensively and be proactive," he said.

In November, the Sacramento City Council created the city's first regulations for the shops since California voters legalized smoking pot for medical reasons in 1996. Like their counterparts in other California cities, Sacramento officials saw a need for local regulation as the number of dispensaries grew.

The city Community Development Department’s Code Compliance Division is responsible for following up on the four dispensaries that didn’t submit applications. Late applications aren’t accepted.

Under Sacramento's new rules, only the 39 dispensaries that had been registered as operating within the city by August 2009 could apply to continue operating.

The dispensaries submitted applications under the first phase of an extensive, two-phase application process. The application of at least one, The Healing Center at 3257 Folsom Blvd., is being challenged by neighboring businesses.

The applications are now being reviewed by the city. The process includes criminal background checks with the Sacramento Police Department and the California Department of Justice.

Dispensaries must operate as collectives or cooperatives of individuals who come together to share marijuana as medicine. The applications must include the dispensaries' plans to operate as not-for-profit entities and to avoid dispensing marijuana to non-patients. Those plans will be reviewed by the city's Revenue Division and city attorney's office, Wasson said.

Dispensaries that meet all the city's requirements for Phase One will get letters inviting them to continue the process. The dispensaries must get special permits from the city Planning Commission or zoning administrator. City Council members can weigh in on any of the permits by requesting they be placed on a council agenda for discussion.

In the second phase, dispensaries apply for special operating permits from the city Finance Department's revenue division. Dispensary operating permits must be renewed each year, just like other specially permitted business activities such as massage businesses and card rooms, he said.

Dispensaries will pay $33,000 or $39,600 during the application process for the first year of operation. Renewing permits will cost about $12,000 annually.

In November, voters approved taxing dispensaries up to 4 percent, which goes into effect July 1.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Medical marijuana fees explained

2010-11-12T01:30:35Z

Local medical marijuana dispensaries must face a lengthy list of fees under the city’s new medical pot regulations.

The Sacramento City Council approved new rules and fees for medical marijuana dispensaries on Tuesday.

Depending on the medical marijuana dispensary, fees of roughly $33,000 or $39,600 will be paid in the application process for the first year of operation, said Joy Patterson, the city’s principal planner. The medical pot shops will pay these total amounts only if they successfully navigate the application process by meeting the city’s new rules, she said.

The city’s 39 registered medical pot shops will be sent to the Planning Commission or the zoning administrator depending on the zone in which they operate and how well they comply with the city’s rules for where pot shops should be located, according to Patterson.

A dispensary that operates in a heavy commercial or industrial zone and meets location requirements falls under the zoning administrator permit, Patterson said. If a dispensary is in a general commercial zone or does not meet location requirements, it would apply for a permit from the Planning Commission, she added.

The medical pot shops are not guaranteed to obtain a permit unless they meet the city’s rules.

Medical marijuana dispensaries that apply with the Planning Commission will pay a variety of fees. Here is Patterson’s breakdown of the fees:

Special Permit $19,415

Environmental Fee $560

Eight percent Technology Fee $1,598

Traffic Engineering Plan Review Fee $500

Dispensary Permit Application $5,000

Dispensary Permit Program $12,600

Total: $39,673 (approximate figure)

Patterson also listed the fees for dispensaries that will apply through the city’s zoning administrator:

Special Permit $13,815

Environmental (Assume exemption) $140

Eight percent Technology Fee $1,116.40

Traffic Engineering Plan Review Fee $500

Dispensary Permit Application $5,000

Dispensary Permit Program $12,600

Total: $33,171.40 (approximate figure)

The approximate totals do not include fingerprinting fees. Regardless of whether the dispensary goes through the zoning administrator or the Planning Commission, each will pay an annual $12,600 fee.

Patterson wrote in an e-mail that building permit fees are not factored into the totals. “There could be a possibility that, as they go through the process, that they will need building permits (for example, to put in the security system),” she said. “There is really no way to give you an estimate for something like that, it is really a case-by-case basis, as it is with any proposed development/business venture.”

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City to charge medical pot shops $54k

2010-11-10T06:42:35Z

Editorial Note: The following Sacramento Press story contains incorrect figures.

It was reported that the city's medical marijuana dispensaries would pay $54,000 in fees. The $54,000 was the sum of two fees that should not have been added together. Joy Patterson, the city's principal planner, provided the correct information Wednesday. Patterson said that depending on the medical marijuana dispensary, a fee of either $39,600 or $33,000 will be paid in the application process for the first year of operation.

We apologize for the error and a followup story on the fee breakdowns will be posted later this week.

The city’s existing medical marijuana dispensaries can become legal businesses. But it will cost them.

The City Council decided Tuesday that medical pot shops could operate legally if they meet a long list of requirements and pay tens of thousands of dollars in permit fees: $54,000 in initial fees for each dispensary and $12,000 per year after that.

In a 6-0 vote, it was determined that the city would legalize, regulate and charge fees to the 39 existing dispensaries. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Council members Ray Tretheway and Bonnie Pannell were absent from the meeting.

“The ordinance before us tonight is a product of outreach and cooperation,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. “Without that, we wouldn’t be here tonight. Is it perfect? No. I’ve said that before. Does it make everyone happy? No ... But it does make registered dispensaries legal in the city of Sacramento.”

Ryan Landers, an advocate for medical marijuana patients, raised concerns about the dispensaries’ ability to pay the fees. “The fee structure can take out some of the most compassionate dispensaries,” he told the City Council.

The new regulations will apply starting Jan. 8, according to the language in the ordinance.

Among many other regulations that medical marijuana dispensaries must follow is a rule stating that the employees and volunteers of a medical marijuana dispensary must not have a felony conviction.

Read the regulations here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council to decide medical pot rules

2010-11-09T03:13:56Z

The Sacramento City Council will decide whether to approve proposed medical marijuana regulations at its Tuesday night meeting.

Under the proposed rules, the city’s 39 medical pot dispensaries could apply for city business permits. Medical pot shops would have to follow a long list of city rules applying to their employees and the location of their businesses.

Dispensaries must be located 600 feet away from parks, schools, day care centers, churches, substance abuse centers, theaters and tobacco retailers, according to the proposed rules. Exemptions from the location rules could apply to existing dispensaries that are registered and have not moved to a different site since Oct. 26, 2010, according to the city’s report on the proposed ordinance.

The regulations would also forbid a shop’s owners, employees and volunteers to have a felony conviction.

Dispensaries would also be required to pay fees to foot all of the city’s costs for regulating the local medical marijuana industry.

The City Council meeting will be held at City Hall, 951 I St., at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Read the draft rules here.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Medical pot tax on ballot

2010-11-02T01:22:23Z

Sacramento voters will decide Tuesday whether to set a business tax on local medical marijuana dispensaries.

Under Measure C, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento could pay as high as 4 percent of their gross receipts per year in business operations taxes.

Meanwhile, most Sacramento businesses already pay $.40 for every $1,000 of gross receipts per year, according to Mark Prestwich, a special projects manager for the city. These businesses don’t pay any more than $5,000 total in business operations taxes. Measure C would not change the rates for non-marijuana businesses.

But if Measure C passed, medical marijuana businesses would be assessed a higher rate of $40 for every $1,000 of gross receipts. The medical marijuana businesses also would not have that $5,000 cap on the amount of taxes they pay, Prestwich said. This means that medical marijuana businesses could pay more of these taxes than most other businesses in the city.

In July, the City Council approved the measure to be placed on the November ballot.

If Measure C passes, the City Council will have the power to decide the specific tax rate it wants to set for medical marijuana businesses. It could choose to charge less than 4 percent of yearly gross receipts.

“The city of Sacramento needs this new revenue to keep providing the services you depend on,” according to the ballot statement by Measure C supporters.

The tax money would go toward the city’s general fund. General fund money goes to city services such as fire, police and park maintenance, according to a fact sheet on the city’s website.

Medical marijuana patients would have to pay more with the new tax, said Lanette Davies, co-owner of the Canna Care dispensary in Sacramento. She said she would have to add the cost of the tax onto the amount that patients are currently paying. Medical marijuana patients are already ill, she said. “They should not be penalized.”

If Proposition 19 passes, legalizing recreational marijuana, Measure C would also allow the city to assess taxes to recreational pot businesses up to 10 percent of yearly gross receipts.

Staff reporter Brandon Darnell contributed reporting and the photograph for this story.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Medical pot providers discuss city's rules

2010-10-26T04:44:58Z

Medical pot advocates hashed out their concerns about the city’s draft medical marijuana rules Monday night.

Sacramento City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, two city staffers and about 40 medical marijuana providers and advocates met at City Hall to discuss the details of the city’s newly released draft medical marijuana regulations.

City staff released draft medical pot rules – which technically consist of two ordinances – on Friday afternoon. The City Council will discuss the ordinances at its Nov. 9 meeting.

At the Monday night meeting, medical pot advocates passed around a microphone and expressed their views of the draft regulations, while a city staffer took notes.

Some medical pot advocates raised concerns about the fees that dispensaries would pay. If the ordinance passes, the city would include several fees in the permit process for medical marijuana clubs. City staff wrote in a report released Friday that the fees “would provide for full recovery of program costs.”

Ryan Landers, an advocate for medical marijuana patients, said the ordinance should not “price everybody out of business.”

The draft rules also say that dispensaries should have bars on their windows, which disturbed Lanette Davies, co-owner of the medical marijuana dispensary Canna Care.

“We want to have (an) open and inviting atmosphere for our patients,” she said.

Several of the people who attended the workshop Monday night said the city’s proposed rules regarding felonies are too strict. The draft rules require each dispensary’s entire staff, including owners and volunteers, to not have a felony conviction.

Sheedy told the group that the ordinance would not be perfect. “The main goal is to get you legitimate,” she said.

Only the 39 registered medical pot shops in the city would be able to apply for permits to legally manage their businesses, according to city staff.

Rules would also dictate the locations of the medical pot dispensaries. The draft ordinance orders hat dispensaries be 600 feet away from parks, schools, substance-abuse centers, theaters, tobacco shops, “youth-oriented facilities” and churches.

Dispensaries should also be 300 feet away from homes, according to the draft rules.

The draft ordinance would provide exemptions from the location restrictions to existing medical pot clubs that are registered and have stayed at the same site since July 27, 2010.

City staff do not expect all of the current medical pot shops to make it through the process in a year, according to the report. “Staff has made a conservative estimate that 25 dispensaries will complete the permit process within one year,” the report states.

Read the draft rules here.

Photo by Brandon Darnell. A state of California benefits card is necessary to legally purchase medicinal marijuana.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City takes lukewarm position on medical pot dispensaries

2010-08-04T01:25:26Z

Jeanne Larsson is worried that the city government may not give her East Sacramento medical marijuana dispensary a permit to operate.

The Sacramento City Council agreed last week that it would not place a cap on the number of medical marijuana shops in the city. But it also supported proposed rules that could possibly lower the number of dispensaries.

Currently, there are 39 medical marijuana shops in Sacramento, including Larsson’s.

So, does this mean the city will allow the 39 facilities?

Judging by comments from city staffers and operators of medical marijuana shops, the answer to that question is yes and no.

Since the City Council has said it doesn’t want to cap the number of facilities, Larsson’s dispensary, A Therapeutic Alternative, is not likely to be kicked out because her shop is one of 39. However, she said she thinks her dispensary may not pass muster with the city’s planned rules.

Among other rules it’s considering, the City Council said it wants to to keep medical pot dispensaries 500 feet away from places that focus on youth, such as parks, schools and churches.

Larsson said Sutter Middle School is 470 feet away from her East Sacramento shop. “I’m concerned that I won’t make it through the process,” Larsson said.

She would not be able to relocate to another site that fits within the city’s planned rules. “I can’t afford the expense of moving and starting,” Larsson said, adding that when a dispensary moves, its members don’t necessarily follow.

The City Council is leaning toward rules in which the majority of the 39 dispensaries would need to qualify for special permits, according to Michelle Heppner, special projects manager for the city.

Larsson, who also sits on the board of directors for the Sacramento Alliance of Collectives, said she thinks the city may use the permits to cut the number of shops. “The special permitting process would allow them to close a lot of doors if they choose to,” Larsson said.

The special permit would come with costs that may be daunting for dispensaries, according to Heppner. She said she’s heard medical marijuana dispensary representatives express concern that they might not be able to apply for the permit because of the cost.

“This may end up being an expensive process,” Heppner said.

Meanwhile, Sonny Kumar, executive director of the El Camino Wellness Center, is taking the planned rules in stride.

“I am not concerned at all that we’ll have any problems meeting or exceeding any of their criteria,” he said.

Kumar praised the city on its plans for the medical marijuana ordinance, saying it “did a good job.”

On the issue of the number of dispensaries in town, Kumar claimed that some of the 39 dispensaries that registered with the city did not actually open.

The issue of regulating the dispensaries cannot easily be described in concrete terms: there are many nuances and caveats. For example, Heppner drew a line between issuing permits and allowing the medical pot dispensaries to apply for permits. “The objective is not to issue 39 permits,” Heppner said. “It’s to give them the opportunity to apply.”

On top of the rules being planned for the city, Larsson pointed out that California voters could decide in November to legalize pot.

Heppner told the City Council she plans to present draft language for a medical marijuana ordinance in late September.

Photo by Brandon Darnell. A worker at Canacare waters medicinal marijuana plants.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council: All 39 medical pot dispensaries can stay in town

2010-07-28T05:15:45Z

The 39 medical marijuana shops in Sacramento are on their way to becoming legal.

The Sacramento City Council voted 8-0 to draft regulations for current pot dispensaries to legally operate with city permits.

Councilman Ray Tretheway was absent from the meeting. Notably, Councilman Robbie Waters, who formerly served as a Sacramento County sheriff and city police officer, voted in favor of a path toward legal and regulated medical marijuana shops. Waters noted that he had originally approached the issue from a “cop view.”

Michelle Heppner, a special projects manager for the city, explained after the meeting that the City Council intends to allow 39 medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento to apply for city permits.

However, the notion of cap on the number of dispensaries is still hazy.

Heppner said the council agreed that the number of dispensaries is not capped at 39. However, the council is not saying that there should be an unlimited number of dispensaries in Sacramento, she said.

Heppner told the City Council she plans to present draft language for a medical marijuana ordinance in late September.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council considers pot and business taxes

2010-06-23T05:36:53Z

The Sacramento City Council wants to start taxing pot dispensaries and possibly increase a business tax.

Expecting California voters to legalize recreational marijuana in November and facing continued financial problems, the council discussed putting a measure on the general election ballot to ask Sacramentans to enact a tax on pot dispensaries and to increase the city's business operations tax (BOT) so bigger companies could pay a more proportionate share.

At a public hearing Tuesday afternoon, several council members indicated they're leaning toward alternatives to a 5 percent, across-the-board pot tax after hearing from at least a dozen patients, operators and advocates for the industry.

Other city councilmen said they may not support a tax increase for other businesses after business leaders Matt Mahood with the Sacramento Metro Chamber and Patty Kleinknecht with the River District opposed an increase, at least until further discussion could take place.

Pot sales are already taxed by the state at 8.75 percent. Currently, only Oakland and Berkeley impose city taxes on the facilities.

Some operators said they're willing to be taxed by the city at a "reasonable" rate, identified by some as 1 to 1.5 percent. The proposed 5 percent tax would be the highest in the state. Others said a city tax would make it impossible for them to provide medical marijuana free to no- or low-income patients, as they currently do. Marijuana advocates and patients alike said medical use of pot shouldn't be taxed because other legal drugs are not taxed.

"I understand the city is in a difficult financial situation. But you want to balance the budget on the backs of patients," said Joy Cole, a Sacramento resident and medical marijuana patient in her fifth year of remission from lung cancer. She was laid off nine months ago. "My ability to earn is limited. Now you want to penalize me further."

The ballot measure, as proposed by city staff, would ask voters to approve phasing in a 5 percent tax on pot stores and increasing the business tax to .07 percent of annual gross receipts for most other businesses within three years. If approved as proposed, the measure could mean an additional $4.5 million in general fund revenues in the first year and $8.8 million each year by year three, according to city staff estimates.

The current BOT is .04 percent of annual gross receipts, but a $5,000 cap exists. So 283 businesses that take in $10 million to $72 million and 38 businesses that take in more than $72 million pay only $5,000 in business operations taxes to the city each year. The measure would propose raising the cap to $50,000 annually.

Businesses pulling in $100,000 in annual gross receipts currently pay $66 in taxes each year, but they'd pay another $27 annually. Businesses with $10 million in annual gross receipts would pay an extra $3,000.

The measure proposes that clean-tech businesses be exempt from the tax for three years. Three categories covering professional business owners such as attorneys and lobbyists as well as hotels have a different rate structure involving flat fees.

Both items were proposed by city staff to provide more revenue for the city for fiscal year 2011/2012, when Sacramento is expected to face a $25 million deficit, said Interim City Manager Gus Vina.

Several council members said they'd like to consider a lower tax — more in line with Oakland's 1.8 percent — and the possibility of categorizing medical and recreational pot as two different products.

"I wouldn't think we would want to be so far out there on the extreme with this," Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

"I, too, have a problem with a tax that is so high," said Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy.

Sacramento has 39 medical marijuana dispensaries. The city has a ban on any new shops opening up after the council moved earlier this month to extend a moratorium on new dispensaries for another year.

Councilman Steve Cohn proposed broadening the measure's wording to include pot cultivation and production. Several council members asked city staff to do more research and provide alternatives for the pot tax and the proposed increase in the business operations tax.

Medical marijuana dispensary advocates said they'd like to meet with city staff between now and July 13 to discuss alternatives to the current proposed tax.

Oakland attorney James Anthony, who drafted Oakland's medical cannabis tax, said that city's 1.8 percent tax has proven burdensome. Representing the Sacramento Alliance of Collectives, he said after the meeting that he will propose creation of "low-scale" cultivation and production facilities in Sacramento, which could then be taxed.

"The problem is we're competing with an underground market that has no overhead.... and that certainly doesn't pay sales tax," he said. "What's going to happen... if you pile on a 5 percent tax — it will drive all of that activity back underground."

Several city councilmen, including Mayor Kevin Johnson, indicated they might not vote for any tax increase for other businesses right now, due to the economy. Companies already pay the highest utility taxes in the region, Mahood said.

In a unanimous vote, the nine-member council directed the city attorney to prepare language for the ballot measure allowing the council to consider options when the measure is brought back for a vote July 13.

The budget proposed for fiscal year 2010/2011 is balanced yet "full of fragile decisions" that include department consolidations and layoffs, said Vina, who urged the council to plan for the future by approving the proposed "minimal" revenue increases. The new measure wouldn't take effect until next July.

"I believe it is a moderate increase and, quite frankly, it brings equity to the BOT," he said.

City budget, strong mayor debate at Tuesday meetings

2010-06-22T04:50:09Z

With the city budget and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s updated strong mayor proposal on the City Council’s agenda, the public is likely to see political fireworks at two meetings Tuesday.

During the first meeting, at 915 I St. at 2 p.m. the City Council will discuss key issues related to the city’s budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The city must settle a $43 million budget gap.

Council members will consider whether to scale back proposed cuts to the city’s fire, parks and police departments. Read the report on some of the planned budget cuts here.

Another issue on the council’s afternoon agenda is the Utilities Department budget. Find information on that budget here.

The City Council will also decide whether to extend city management’s negotiations with three unions for 30 days. The unions are Stationary Engineers, Local 39; Auto, Marine & Specialty Painters, Local 1176; and Plumbers & Pipefitters, Local 447. A document from the interim city manager’s office on the issue can be readhere.

In addition, council members will discuss their views on a possible ballot measure which would tax local medical marijuana dispensaries. Learn more about that discussion here.

At the evening meeting, to be held at 915 I St. at 6 p.m., the City Council will make a final decision on the budget and then discuss Johnson’s new strong mayor plan.

The City Council is discussing, but not voting on, Johnson’s plan. Johnson aims to ask council members to vote in mid-July to put the plan on the November ballot. Read a report on the issue from Johnson’s office here.

City Council meetings are open to the public.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council wrestling with rules for medical pot clubs

2010-06-03T04:56:52Z

The city’s elected officials are still sorting out how to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries nearly a year after they set a rule blocking new pot clubs.

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, council members added another year to the existing ban on new medical pot dispensaries.

However, Michelle Heppner, the city staffer who is working on ideas for regulation, said Wednesday that she would like to have an ordinance ready before the end of the year. Heppner, a special projects manager, said the time frame for setting up a medical pot ordinance would depend on the City Council’s decision-making process.

The city currently has 39 medical pot clubs, Heppner said.

Speakers in support of medical marijuana establishments said they liked the idea of lengthening the moratorium.

Jeanne Larsson, who represents the Sacramento Alliance of Collectives, told the City Council that the clubs in her group are responsible business owners. She said her group consists of 15 Sacramento dispensaries.

The lengthened moratorium gives representatives from medical pot dispensaries more time to work with the city on an ordinance, she said.

“This shows that the city is willing to explore the issue of dispensary regulation in greater depth and we would like to be part of a working group modeled to create our ordinance,” she said.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said she was concerned about a medical pot club that had moved from a previous location to a site on Center Parkway located across the street from North Laguna Creek Park. The dispensary is near a park, a movie theater and houses, she said, adding that she has heard complaints about it.

“If I’d have known, I would have said no (to the club's move)” Pannell said. “Too close to the park, theater and residential.”

Heppner said she would bring options for regulation to the City Council in late July. A final decision will not be made at that meeting, Heppner said, noting that the city will take additional steps in the process of creating a final ordinance.

One of the ideas for potential regulation is to cut the number of dispensaries from 39 to 12.

“There are issues about whether the arbitrary number of 12 is the number of dispensaries we need to have, when we know that there are 39 operating right now,” Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said.

All of the council members voted on Tuesday to lengthen the timeline except Councilman Rob Fong, who was absent from the meeting.

Photos by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Support for the legalization of cannabis grows

2009-11-01T06:04:02Z

Standing outside of a Sacramento medical cannabis dispensary, you might detect something in the air. No, it's not secondhand THC vapor — public medicating is prohibited in the county. What you sense is a shift in perspective. Public pressure is building for the legalization and regulation of one of the oldest cash crops in America: the plants of genus Cannabis.

The US federal government has held since 1970 that cannabis is a danger to public health and safety and listed the annual flowering herb under US code as having "high potential for abuse" and "no accepted medical potential."

"A lot of people are thinking that federal drug laws are arbitrary and now we're starting to see the translation of public sentiment into political will,” Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D - San Francisco) told The Sacramento Press.

In 1996, California voters passed a ballot initiative, Proposition 215, which allowed the possession, cultivation and use of cannabis for patients with a doctor's recommendation. Since then, voter majorities in Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington have passed ballot initiatives to allow seriously ill Americans to use cannabis.

In 2003, after numerous rewrites, the California Legislature recognized and further protected medical marijuana uses with SB 420. State legislatures of Hawaii, Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Mexico have passed bills that do mostly the same. SB 420 is unlike other bills in that it also allows for the formation of patient collectives — not-for-profit businesses that provide medical cannabis to qualified patients.

American Association for Medical Cannabis state director Ryan Landers had a hand in the shaping of 420. "Originally, 420 started out as 187, a bill that was more conservative and, I felt, would help less people. It was sent to the suspense file and I had this feeling it would be coming back, so I helped to rewrite it for greater patient coverage."

Before 420, several bills entered debate that would contravene Proposition 215. In 2000, two of these bills emerged. Former state Senator Maurice Johannessen authored SB 2089, a bill that would have limited the recommendation of cannabis and restricted patients to two indoor plants. It failed in the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, its first committee.

SB 848, authored by former state Senator John Vasconcellos, would have placed harsher regulations on medicinal cannabis and was refused passage in the Assembly.

"I testified to kill those bills to ensure that there would be no misunderstanding," Landers said. "I want to provide freedom for the most patients possible."

According to a 2004 survey by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), over 75,000 Californians have become cannabis patients under the provisions of the Compassionate Use Act (215) and the Medical Marijuana Program (420).

Physicians and medical professionals have been a vital source of support for the medical cannabis movement. Dr. Frank Lucido, a 30-year private practice doctor and respected medical cannabis spokesman, estimates that 1,500 doctors in California recommend cannabis to chronically ill patients. He said that significant stigma still surrounds the drug, however.

"There are two reasons doctors are hesitant to prescribe cannabis," he said. “First, a lot of doctors don't know the value of the drug because they simply weren't taught that in medical school. Second, many are afraid of the California Medical Board and federal law enforcement, even though they're protected by Supreme Court rulings."

Lucido believes that medical cannabis, despite its enduring taboo in the medical sector, has wide applicability.

"Every doctor knows they have about 20 slam-dunk patients that could benefit greatly from medical cannabis."

Full legalization is a completely different animal and Ammiano knows it. The state representative introduced AB 390 in March to a blaze of attention. Since then, the bill has failed to move through the legislature. However, Ammiano planned for AB 390 to be a two-year bill.

"The debate we're having is sustainable, it has legs," Ammiano said. "And it's way bigger than just me."

AB 390 is a bill of a rare breed: It is both a full decriminalization of cannabis for adults over the age of 21, and a plan to enforce systems of taxation to tap into the drug's booming commercial value.

This would work twofold by would generating tax receipts and reducing state expenses. The bill planned to institute a tax of $50 per ounce of dried marijuana sold by official retailers, who would pay no more than $2,500 for an annual sales license and $1,000 for a renewal. Further, the bill would free up state resources in law enforcement, no longer regarding cannabis users as a criminal priority.

"It's California's biggest cash crop and right now we're hemorrhaging money to prosecute and imprison minor drug offenders,” Ammiano said. “With the current budget crisis, this is looking like the perfect storm."

Cannabis activists largely support AB 390, though the seasoned Landers objects to some points.

"The bill started out ahead of itself," he said. "The profits and tax numbers it projects are based on the illegal price of cannabis. Once legalization gets through, supply will increase and prices will have to settle. A $50 tax on an ounce that costs $25, which is the final pre-tax price most people hope for, would be ridiculous."

The age limit in the bill -- that Ammiano modeled after alcohol regulations -- is also contentious.

"The age limit of 21 is entirely a concession," Landers said. "Putting cannabis into the same category of regulation as alcohol opens up a host of problems. Eighteen-year-olds could take the state to court and force them to explain why cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol, even though marijuana alone has never killed a soul."

Ammiano's bill has the support of San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey, although law enforcement has historically been extremely critical of legalization. "I think marijuana should be decriminalized," Hennessey told SFWeekly in February. "I'd like to give more thought to heroin and methamphetamines and that kind of stuff."

The California Police Chiefs Association disagrees, having issued a 2009 White Paper that rebuked even the medicinal use of cannabis. The white paper characterizes medical cannabis dispensaries as "multi-million dollar enterprises" which are "often used as a front for organized crime" where "many violent crimes have been committed," fostering "generally unhealthy conditions."

But actual instances of crime in and around dispensaries is fairly rare, according to Sacramento Police Department spokesman Norm Leong. "Service calls are generally uncommon, he said. “And when we do get calls, it's the dispensary owners that call it in."

Ammiano sees a gradual change of mind regarding cannabis in law enforcement.

"There's certainly a mindset there, but there are cracks in that as well. It's not as monolithic as it used to be."

He also cited the late conservative economist Milton Friedman, who supported cannabis legalization and taxation toward the end of his life.

Outside of Ammiano’s efforts, activist groups are taking other routes. Two voter initiatives are circulating through California, both of which propose to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis.

The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, introduced by Oaksterdam University, would enact largely the same legalization measures as Ammiano's bill. This would allow the pro-cannabis supporters to get legalization directly onto the ballot and circumvent any lack of political support.

"The cannabis regulating system we currently have in place has failed," said Salwa Ibrahim, spokesperson for the initiative. "We want to empower the state to benefit from something that's already existing."

Ibrahim cited other benefits that are frequently discussed in the cannabis debate. "We don't think consumption or crime would increase at all. Similar to prohibition in the '20s, the black markets [that] illegality has created would disappear."

Regardless of the outcome of any of these movements, it seems clear that the public dialogue on legal cannabis has taken a step forward.

"390 has done an amazing thing, and that's this: It ignited the conversation," Landers said.

With or without the blessing of the law, humans worldwide are planting the cannabis seed. The renewed question on everyone's mind is what to do with the harvest.

This story was written by former Sacramento Press intern Cheyenne Cary.

Medical marijuana activist Ryan Landers speaks

2009-11-01T06:01:56Z

Medical cannabis in California wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for Ryan Landers. The Sacramento activist helped to develop the laws, policies and realities of medical marijuana in a career of activism that spans more than a decade. He was there to help roll Proposition 215 into motion in 1996 and had a significant hand in crafting SB 420 in 2003.

"I live the cause," he said. "When I'm not out testifying or counseling or negotiating for the cause, I'm just home and sick."

He's a 15-year survivor of HIV/AIDS, a personal fact that he doesn't usually publicize partly due to prior experience.

Landers, now 37, became a member of Californians for Compassionate Use in 1995. CCU is the group behind the successful Prop. 215 ballot initiative that won state medical legalization.

"When we got started, the public perception was really different," Landers said. "As we were collecting signatures, people were shocked. 'What do you mean you want to change drug laws?'"

As a volunteer, Landers ran information tables and collected signatures at California colleges, the Capitol, bookstores and food co-ops. “The press was giving us coverage every night, and I started appearing on TV,” Landers said.

Prop. 215 landed on the 1996 ballot and swept through into law on a 55.6% margin.

Landers is no stranger to news cameras and microphones. His media skills made public figures of his friends Steve Connell and Jacqueline Mahone, who testified beside him for years. He has also worked extensively with activists like East Bay resident Dr. Frank Lucido and Sacramento attorney Joseph Farina, to whom Landers says he probably owes his life.

Getting a tattoo at 16 changed his life forever. He was diagnosed HIV positive in 1995.

He started medicating to help deal with the nausea and pain that the HIV virus and medication brought with it. Cannabis helps relieve his neuropathic pain and allows him to eat and keep food down once a day, even though he hasn't been hungry in 15 years.

Landers' activism reads like a history of medical pot. He testified in the California State Legislature against SB 535 (1997), SB 847 (1999), SB 848 (1999), and SB 187 (2001). He helped to author a revised version of SB 187, which went on to become the successful SB 420.

In appearance, Landers is not what you'd expect when you think of a cannabis activist. He keeps his hair cropped and short, reminiscent of his service with the Navy during the first Gulf War, and stays snappily dressed in three-piece suits on a normal day of business. He looks nothing like Tommy Chong.

The medical cannabis cause wound up making Landers a parent. As he was working with teens at risk of expulsion for cannabis use, he took two kids under his wing and eventually officially adopted them. David, 23, and Nate, 24, both graduated with their senior classes. More recently, they made him a grandfather at 37.

"In the end, that's why I could never walk away, when I thought about how many lives in the community could stand to benefit from this," Landers said. "If what I was doing was dangerous, or if it were wrong, I wouldn't be doing it."

(This story was written by former Sacramento Press intern Cheyenne Cary.)