Dispensaries

San Diego Passes Restrictive New Medical Marijuana Rules

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 29, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

The San Diego City Council on Monday approved restrictive new medical marijuana regulations that will force more than 165 dispensaries in the city to close in the near future and apply for permits to operate.

San Diego becomes the 43rd city in California to pass sweeping limitations on medical marijuana collectives, which have multiplied at a speed that has alarmed city officials, reports Christopher Cadelago at Sign On San Diego. At least 214 California cities have permanent bans on the facilities, according to the Coalition for a Drug Free California.

Cities Shutter Dispensaries; Legislature Moves To Legalize Them

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Courtney Blethen Riffkin/The Seattle Times

Laura Healy, of Green Hope Patient Network in Shoreline, Washington, which lost its business license, said cities are in a bind: “They’re trying to force the Legislature to step up to the plate”

Cities across Washington have moved to shut down a combined 35 medical marijuana dispensaries since February. The crackdown is occurring even as the Legislature is moving the legalize the cannabis collectives.

The crackdown is driven, at least in part, by a little-noticed memo from a municipal insurance risk pool, reports Jonathan Martin at the Seattle Times. The memo emphatically states that dispensaries are illegal and not entitled to business licenses, and that opinion has prompted Shoreline, Tacoma and other Seattle-area cities to action.

Bogus Medical Marijuana Map Released By S.D. City Council

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Stop the Ban

This is the REAL map showing just how restrictive San Diego’s proposed dispensary ordinance would actually be.

In advance of a San Diego City Council vote on an ordinance which would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, the Council published a map which supposedly shows areas where a collective could be located in the city under the ordinance as written. But the map is so inaccurate as to be misinformation, according to a local patient advocacy group.

“While we contend that even this map reflects a seriously restrictive ordinance that harms patients and communities, we were distressed to learn that this map is largely inaccurate and misinforms the public as to what degree of access this ordinance would allow,” said a statement from the Stop the Ban campaign.

The City Council’s map, the PDF of which has since been removed from the web, shows various “sensitivity uses” such as schools, child care centers, and libraries. But under the ordinance, dispensaries must also be located 1,000 feet away from churches and youth-serving facilities — and no churches or youth-serving facilities are included on the map.

County’s First Medical Marijuana Trial Quickly Ends In Acquittal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, News

Photo: Mark Morey/Yakima Herald-Republic

Valtino Hicks waits for the jury to enter the courtroom, Thursday, March 25, 2011 during his trial in Yakima County Superior Court. He was accused of running a marijuana growing operation in his home.

Yakima County, Washington’s first medical marijuana dispensary trial quickly ended in acquittal Thursday afternoon.

The Superior Court jury that heard the charges against Valtino Hicks of Yakima returned its verdict in less than 25 minutes, reports Mark Morey of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

At least two other local medical marijuana cases are pending, and the issue remains controversial across the state. King County, home of Seattle, has declined to prosecute marijuana dispensaries, and a bill advanced this week in the Legislature which would create a legal framework for licensed dispensaries.

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Bill Heads To WA House

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 24, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Reality Catcher

Although dispensaries are neither specifically allowed nor banned by Washington’s current medical marijuana law, more than 120 have opened.

The latest version of a plan to license medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington state and provide arrest protection for patients is headed for a vote in the state House after narrowly passing a committee on Wednesday.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington since voters approved Initiative 692 in 1998, but the law left confusion around how patients who qualify to use medical marijuana can legally get it.

The heavily amended Senate Bill 5073 would allow the state Health Department to decide how many dispensaries could be located in each county, and would set up a lottery to obtain a license, reports Jim Camden of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Charity Says No Thanks To Food Donations From Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Westword

Dave Crook and Amy DiIullo of Urban Cannabis with donated food items

’Cans For Cones’ Turns To Controversy

A Denver medical marijuana dispensary says it is literally trading a ton of joints for a ton of food. But one local charity turned down the food donation offered by Urban Cannabis because of its connection to marijuana.

Urban Cannabis said it is giving out free pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes to qualified medical marijuana patients who bring in four or more (8-ounce) canned food items. Monday marked a high point for the food drive, according to the dispensary, which said it collected 250 pounds of food in eight hours.

Golf Club Co. Threatens To Move Out If Pot Shop Moves In

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2011 Dispensaries, News

If you support medical marijuana patients, don’t buy Ping golf clubs. They don’t want to be associated with you, anyway.

Golf club manufacturer Ping is threatening to leave its Phoenix headquarters after 45 years if a medical marijuana dispensary is allowed in the neighborhood, according to its attorney. If you support medical marijuana patients, you definitely want to think twice before buying anything made by these morons.

While most dispensary applications sailed through without opposition, Ping objected strenuously to an applicant for a site at 1944 W. North Lane, one block south of the company’s headquarters, reports Michael Clancy at The Arizona Republic.

Ping representative Stephen Earl told a Phoenix hearing officer that the company is “considering” investing $170 million to renovate its headquarters, but “may not do so if the neighborhood decline continues.”

Raided Marijuana Dispensary Reopens In Montana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Big Sky Patient Care

Big Sky Patient Care only stayed closed a week after being raided by gun-wielding DEA agents.

Valerie Sigler said her business did nothing illegal, so the co-owner of Big Sky Patient Care, a medical marijuana dispensary in Four Corners, Montana, was back open for business on Monday.

Sigler and her husband decided to continue providing medical marijuana to patients after speaking with their lawyer on Sunday, reports Daniel Person at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Big Sky Patient Care was one of around 10 dispensaries raided by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents last week.

Spokane, WA Marijuana Dispensaries Concerned About Future

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander

Ryan Seeley and Surisa Arispe outside their medical marijuana dispensary, Indicare, in Spokane, December 2010

Medical marijuana dispensary owners swarmed Spokane City Hall on Monday night, asking local political leaders to push for a clarification of Washington’s medicinal cannabis law.

The owners have good reason to be concerned. Last week, a Spokane jury convicted Scott Shupe, who co-owned one of the city’s first medical marijuana dispensaries, reports Tania Dall at KXLY4.

Shupe had argued that a broad interpretation of the law allows dispensaries to supply authorized patients, provided they serve only one patient at a time. But jurors decided that Washington’s medical marijuana law should not be interpreted as allowing dispensaries.

N.J. Announces 6 Licensed Medical Marijuana Growers, Sellers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

The six state-licensed growers and sellers for New Jersey medical marijuana patients have just been announced by the state health department.

The list of dispensaries, known as “alternative treatment centers,” or ATCs, in New Jersey, as reported by Susan K. Livio at NJ.com, is as follows:

• Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center Corp., Manalapan, Monmouth County

• Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation Inc., New Brunswick, Middlesex County

• Compassionate Care Foundation Inc., Bellmawr, Camden County

• Compassionate Sciences, INc., either Burlington or Camden County

• Foundation Harmony, Secaucus, Hudson County

• Greenleaf Compassion Center, Montclair, Essex County

The state health department released the list of winning applicants on Monday, despite the Legislature’s intent to repeal the medical marijuana program rules draft by the Christie Administration.

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