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They are doing what they feel they need to do," Jones said. "I think the best practice is to close down quietly, and we'll spend the next six months lobbying to increase the limit."
<br />http://www.marijuana.org/OaklandTrib6-02-04.htm Marijuana Clubs Question Ethics Of City's Order To Close Friday, May 19, 2006 by Tom Lochner Contra Costa Times (Excerpts from the Article)
<br />Richmond, CA --With the crafting of a Medical Marijuana regulating ordinance stalled, the Richmond City Attorney's office has ordered the immediate closure of two cannabis clubs, the
<br />only ones known to operate in the city. One, Natural Remedies Health Collective on Macdonald Avenue, promptly closed. The other, Holistic Solutions on Hilltop Mall Road, remained open
<br />Thursday. Owner Ken Estes said he hopes to persuade Richmond officials and council members that his business benefits both patients and the city at large. In a cease-and-desist order
<br />dated May 16, Assistant City Attorney Trisha Aljoe told Natural Remedies owner Linda Jackson that failure to comply will result in the filing of criminal charges. Estes said he received
<br />a similar letter. Jackson closed her shop Wednesday, but on Thursday, she questioned the legality and ethics of the city's order. "This is taking away my livelihood and putting my patients
<br />in harm's way," said Jackson. On Thursday, the committee declined to adopt a recommendation by the city staff to declare cannabis clubs a "non-permitted use" and referred the matter
<br />to the city council to consider as part of a general plan overhaul. Police Chief Chris Magnus said Thursday that cannabis clubs are a drain on police resources. Magnus said there was
<br />a burglary at Natural Remedies in May 2005. But Jackson said that occurred under a previous owner. And at Holistic solutions, Magnus said, Richmond officers observed a steady stream
<br />of young people coming and going, causing him to doubt they were there for medical reasons. But Estes said many younger people use Medical Marijuana for pain resulting from injuries
<br />and that police should come inside to observe how he checks out his patients. Copyright Contra Costa Newspapers Inc. www.hemp.net/news/index.php?article=1149877045 Clearlake, CA: Moratorium
<br />on marijuana dispensaries (June 6, 2006) Submitted by Nathan on Mon, 06/12/2006 -9:24am. Lake County, California Moratorium on marijuana dispensaries (Excerpts from the Article) 06/06/2006
<br />Denise Rockenstein, Lake County Record-Bee Source: http://www.record-bee.com/oanews/ci_3906208 Yet, 10 years after the passage of the Compassion Use Act, barriers are still blocking
<br />patients' access to medicinal marijuana. It is the city's hope that the issue will be resolved in Federal Court before the moratorium, which has been extended to 10 months, 15 days,
<br />is complete. According the staff report submitted to the council on May 25, "Clearlake currently has no permitted Dispensaries, but the Police Department believes there may be businesses
<br />distributing Medical Marijuana in the City, and that it is likely that persons will seek land use entitlements and permits from the City to distribute Medical Marijuana." Holistic Solutions,
<br />a natural healing center that provides medicinal marijuana, has been operating on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake for more than a year under City of Clearlake Business License No. 4535.
<br />
<br />48 Another distributor, Barrett Consulting, which operates Alternative Patient Services out of the Java Express Mall, has been a permitted business in the City of Clearlake for more
<br />than four years. Both Holistic Solutions and Barrett Consulting have been successful in obtaining a business license as well as renewals of those licenses. "If something doesn't change
<br />before (Sept. 30) I will be out of business," said James Barrett, Barrett Consulting proprietor who began his business after recognizing a need for local access. He further identified
<br />the elderly as being most affected by access barriers, stating that the teenage population basically has unlimited street access to marijuana. "The thing with the moratorium is that
<br />there is going to be a lot of (elderly) patients that can't get their medicine." Barrett agrees that zoning regulations on Medical Marijuana dispensaries are needed as does Holistic
<br />Solutions co-owner Dave Moses. "Zoning regulations are badly needed," Barrett said, "but, in my opinion, that should have been taken care of in 1997." Moses has extended his assistance
<br />to the city staff in establishing regulations on businesses providing medicinal marijuana to patients. Moses, along with his brother Ken Estes, have been involved in the marijuana movement
<br />for more than 13 years. Estes, president of Holistic Solutions, began using Medical Marijuana following a paralyzing motorcycle accident in 1993. "When I was going through my rehab I
<br />tried marijuana for the first time and it really worked. It did something that the pills weren't doing. It gave me my appetite back and I could sleep," Estes explained from his wheelchair.
<br />"The pills were breaking me down and the marijuana was kind of filling me up. Making me eat; giving me a good positive attitude. There are some good characteristics to marijuana that
<br />pharmaceuticals long to have." Estes and Moses were instrumental in the establishment of regulations in the San Francisco area where they operate two more dispensaries. An outline of
<br />those regulations has been submitted to city staff. As of Tuesday, June 6, the city has made no attempt to contact either Estes or Moses although they are eager to help put zoning regulations
<br />in place. "We want regulation and control because we believe in that," Moses said. "We don't think that we should be within 100 feet of a school, or operate all hours of the night, for
<br />example, and we would be like to be contributing our fair share to the city's coffers." Although Moses had requested that the council include in its moratorium authorization for renewal
<br />of existing business licenses, his request was denied. However, Mayor Joyce Overton recommended that the item be brought back before the council for a progress update in August. Contact
<br />Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com. Pot club owner unable to retrieve seized items 09/02/2006 By Tom Lochner CONTRA COSTA TIMES The owner of a cannabis club and
<br />his deliveryman have struck out at Richmond police headquarters trying to retrieve confiscated property: the club owner's 27 pounds of marijuana and the driver's personal effects, which
<br />include more than $23,000 in cash he called his life's savings. "They're denying patients their medicine," said Ken Estes, who owns Holistic Solutions on Hilltop Mall Road and the marijuana
<br />that was in the truck. On Thursday, a WestNET officer handed the deliveryman, Richard Barrett, a notice of intended forfeiture of the cash. Barrett said he has carried his savings with
<br />him since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
<br />49 Estes described as "pure harassment" a police action that began Tuesday with a traffic stop and culminated in Barrett's arrest on suspicion of illegally transporting narcotics and
<br />confiscation of the truck's cargo. Barrett was released later Tuesday after the cannabis club's legal team posted $15,000 bail. Barrett has an Oct. 2 date to appear in court but has
<br />not been charged with any crime. By then, Estes said, the marijuana, which he described as top-grade with the name "Ken's granddaddy," likely will be useless. "The product can go bad,"
<br />Estes said. "It's like any kind of perishable." Richmond has no cannabis club-regulating ordinance. Administrative officials have said the clubs are therefore illegal, but they have
<br />not enforced a cease-anddesist order against Holistic Solutions issued May 16. Other cities have held that without an ordinance, there is no legal basis to control or ban the clubs.
<br />Estes said he considers Richmond's cease-and-desist order illegal. Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/15425405.htm In closing, what we have learned over the ten
<br />years since the adoption of Proposition 215? We have learned that what was intended as “Compassionate use” has turned into an unregulated multi-million dollar cash and carry industry.
<br />There are appears to be little or no controls in place to govern the issuance of “medical recommendations” from doctors, the cultivation and transportation of marijuana to the dispensaries,
<br />as well as the operation of the dispensaries themselves. In those rare instances when the blurry line has been egregiously crossed, there is seldom a successful prosecution as a result.
<br />We as the Law Enforcement component of our society must find a means of controlling this situation within our communities. The first step in the process must be the accurate recording
<br />of data relating to Medical Marijuana. Each of us at some point will be expected to inform our local governments as to the actual extent of the problem and our suggested course of action.
<br />Only by being well informed, with quantifiable and defendable statistics, will be able to broach this sensitive issue and make our recommendations to either ban these activities or at
<br />the very least put in place reasonable restrictions to reduce their impact.
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