Monday, March 8, 2010

Medical marijuana collective opens in Wildomar despite city ban

The general manager of a medical marijuana collective in Wildomar said
state law allows the nonprofit group to operate despite city zoning
rules that prohibit such facilities.

The Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group opened Friday in the 33000
block of Mission Trail. The private collective will be in business 11
a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

No city action had been taken against the collective as of Friday
afternoon.

Incorporated in 2008, Wildomar inherited Riverside County zoning rules
that ban medical marijuana dispensaries, Councilwoman Sheryl Ade said.

Asked what she thinks of the collective, Ade replied: "I'm not going to
talk about that right now because I think it's premature ... This is
brand new, so we've never looked at it and now it's come to us."

General Manager William Sump said the members-only collective
"facilitates the exchange of excess cannabis between cultivating and
non-cultivating members."

While money can be exchanged, Sump said, the amount can cover only the
cost of growing the marijuana.

Two armed guards and 32 cameras provide security at the collective, he
said.

Sump said the collective exists to provide safe access to quality
marijuana for patients in need. Under California law, doctors can
prescribe marijuana for a variety of conditions.

"Fourteen years is too long for patients who are sick and dying," said
Sump, referring to the 1996 law passed by voters legalizing medical
marijuana.

He said he has been in touch with city officials about the collective,
which has been in the works about nine months.

Ade said she learned a lot by attending recent forums on medical
marijuana.

"I educated myself on this, and before we discuss this, my one concern
is that the other council members spend some time studying (the issue),"
she said.

Sump said state law, as well as recent opinions from the attorney
general's office and county Sheriff Stanley Sniff, reinforce the
collective's legal right to operate.

Sump added he's willing to work with city officials to ensure the
collective isn't disruptive and, possibly, to come up with a medical
marijuana ordinance for the city.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

THIS IS TERRIFIC. Now that Stump has had the courage to buck the system I hope the community gets behind him. I know I will.
I hope the Press Enterprise and you Jeff, will expose the collective storefront to the public. I think generally people fear what they don’t understand. It is my hope that you will dig deeper and really explain what a collective storefront does, how it operates, what he CA Atty General says. Publish that Jeff. Educate the public on the issue. Do some background stories that bring people up to speed.
For example – If Tax Cannabis 2010 passes in November (check the polls) local city council members can basically veto our vote. This minority of 5, in every city will still have the power to impose BAN’s and moratoriums that never end. That means even if the voters in these city’s vote to pass this bill, they will STILL not be given the right to organize collective that can commercially grow or distribute and WHAT REALLY GETS ME RILED UP IS…. No Tax Benefit! City’s that don’t participate in the Tax and Legislate Cannabis Bill, receive no $$$$ tax benefit. I think most of the people that are planning to vote for this bill is because they WANT the taxable benefits. I think your readers will be PISS OFF when they find out their vote was vetoed by the 5 city council members in their town. Currently ONLY 1 CITY in all of the Inland Empire has created “Safe Access Zoning”. American for Safe Access ASA spokesperson says they are “beautiful”, an excellent example of how to provide win win solutions. Why don’t you print those ordinances. When your readers see them they will understand what the advocates are fighting for. They will see how reasonable and safe these collective storefronts can be.
Or how about a story on what happens if the Anaheim case before the CA Supreme Court affirms (any day now) that BANs on collective store frnts are illegal and unenforceable? What happens come November when Tax Cannabis 2010 passes (and it will)? What happens to all these city’s with No Safe Access Ordinances in place? I will tell you…. absolute anarchy!

Write about that Jeff… Use your power to educate people on what the news really means. What is it that everyone is fighting over? What are the issues?

Jennelle Brownley
Medical Cannabis Advocate