Palm Springs Marijuana News

Medical marijuana group awaits City Council decision

Terria Smith • The Desert Sun • September 10, 2009

A local medical marijuana advocacy group is awaiting the city of Palm
Springs' decision on which two collectives will be permitted to operate
in the city.

The Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project's medical marijuana patient
support group met Saturday at Crystal Fantasy in Palm Springs to discuss
local issues concerning medical marijuana.

"Thirty days have passed since the review and still no dispensaries
(have been) chosen," said Lanny Swerdlow, president of the Marijuana
Anti-Prohibition Project during the meeting.

This comes after the city's zoning and land-use ordinance regulating
dispensaries went into effect in April.

Under the ordinance, dispensaries may not operate in commercial areas,
said Doug Holland, Palm Springs city attorney.

There can also be no more than two dispensaries within city limits, and
they will be limited to areas zoned for industrial use.

City Manager David Ready said the city staff has done its review of 11
applications that were submitted and has given them to the city
attorney.

The applications will go before the Palm Springs City Council for
consideration on October 7.

Holland and Ready both said they are still waiting for federal
government criminal background checks to be completed on some of the
applications.

"Our anticipation is that all of the information will be ready by
October 7," Ready said.

During the meeting Saturday, Swerdlow also gave the advocacy group an
update about the criminal case against Stacy Hochanadel, former owner of
the CannaHelp medical marijuana dispensary in Palm Desert.

The Court of Appeal, Fourth District in San Diego ruled August 18 that
the Indio Superior Court wrongly quashed a search warrant in the case,
which in turn led to its May 2008 dismissal of Riverside County's case
against Hochanadel, and his two managers, John Bednar and James
Campbell.

Hochanadel is one of the 11 applicants seeking a license to operate in
Palm Springs. He had opened a dispensary in the city but closed it after
the new law was passed.

Desert Sun reporter K Kaufmann contributed to this report.

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