Tom
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:06
Robert Allen Seeks Sutter Creek Medical Pot Dispensary Permit
Amador County – The applicant for a medical marijuana dispensary use permit spoke to the Sutter Creek City Council on Monday, saying he did not want to talk about legalizing pot, but rather about the law already in place. Robert Allen said he founded Gold Country Harvest Cooperative with the desire to open up a medical marijuana dispensary. He said medical pot helped his mother increase her appetite for food and extended her life by 2 years. He asked Sutter Creek City Council to “slow down” and not “get on the anti-bandwagon like every other city” in Amador County. Allen said the city should look at Sacramento, which is pursuing the taxing of medical pot. Planning Commissioner Robin Peters asked City Attorney Derek P. Cole if commission approval of a pot dispensary could be seen as an illegal action in the strictest reading of the law. Cole said city laws cannot violate state or federal law. Peters said if the issue was not appealed, the city council would not even act on the conditional use permit, but he also said the permit would not come to the commission for a while. Cole said state law regulates formation of agricultural cooperatives and medical pot co-ops. The co-op members can pay farmers for their time, but not for the marijuana. Councilman Pat Crosby said he knew nothing about the medical benefits of pot and was very disappointed they could not have Walgreens sell pot. (Cole told him earlier that as a pharmacy, Walgreens would be regulated federally, and federal law prohibits marijuana sales.) Crosby said it is an apparent benefit to some people and “if they do not allow it, it would be a disservice” to those people.” Vice Mayor Tim Murphy said medical pot prescriptions are “largely a scam” and anyone could get them. He said the council “should have addressed this a year ago” when he heard Allen’s story “instead of waiting for an application.” Wooten said if it is illegal they should get rid of the code, and Anderson said she had numerous calls, and “no one said they wanted a marijuana co-op.” She worried that Sutter Creek “could be the only legal corridor in the county,” and she did not want that to happen. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:09
Sutter Creek Looks at Removing Pot Dispensary Code
Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council gave staff direction Monday to work on a city ordinance on medical marijuana dispensaries. Councilwoman Linda Rianda asked the new city attorney for a status update on city marijuana code and possible options. Rianda said the city’s historic area had a prohibition on medical pot dispensaries, but zoning on Sutter Hill allowed it according to acting City Manager Sean Rabe. Rianda said she had some concerns and had been following related litigation in municipalities across the state. City Attorney Derek P. Cole said courts had ruled in favor of the Southern California cities of Claremont and Corona, who had prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries. He said those rulings found that state law (created by Senate Bill 420) did not affect cities’ power to regulate or prohibit dispensaries within its city limits. Cole said another ruling was expected Monday (July 19th) in Anaheim, but the decision was deferred for 30 days. He said the Anaheim verdict was expected to deliver a “definitive ruling” on the law. Cole said the legalization of marijuana in California began with the 1996 passage of Proposition 215, creating the “Compassionate Use Act,” which allowed marijuana possession of a “reasonable amount.” He said a new statewide ballot measure (Proposition 19), if successful in November, would allow a person to possess up to but not more than 1 ounce of marijuana and would allow for people to cultivate up to 25 square feet of marijuana in their residences. He said its passage would likely cause a wave of litigation, taking years to resolve. Cole said “any city cannot pass an ordinance that violates state or federal law,” and federal and state law both prohibit marijuana, but in California, medicinal marijuana is legal. He said the Obama administration has decreed that federal authorities will not prosecute people who are following their state law, such as simply using medical marijuana in California and the state attorney general is not going to get involved. Cole said there is an application for a medical marijuana dispensary pending in Sutter Creek’s planning department. Cole said the city’s code allows application for a conditional use permit to open a pot dispensary. Cole said by the letter of the law, the current city code is illegal. Rianda supported removing that code, and Councilman Tim Murphy, Mayor Gary Wooten and Councilwoman Sandy Anderson agreed. Rianda said they should have Cole draft an ordinance to remove the city code and then if the law changed in November, they could revisit the issue. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:11
Amador County Appeals Approval of Buena Vista Gaming Compact
Amador County - The County of Amador has filed an appeal in the Untied State Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in its long-standing litigation challenging approval by the Secretary of the Interior of an amendment to the gaming compact between the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians and the State of California that allows the construction of a casino in the unincorporated area of Amador County. The County’s lawsuit was filed on April 1, 2005. After a lengthy delay, the trial court dismissed the case on January 8, 2009. The County filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider his ruling, which was denied on July 12, 2010. “The court’s ruling dismissing the case was on procedural grounds. The court stated that the Secretary’s ‘approval by inaction’ of the compact amendment was not reviewable by a court. We believe this decision is wrong and welcome the chance to submit our case to the Court of Appeals,” said County Counsel Martha Shaver. The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians owns land south of the City of Ione in the unincorporated area of Amador County. The Tribe is moving forward with its efforts to construct a Class III casino on the property. The County’s lawsuit argues that the land is ineligible for gaming under Federal law. Via Release This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:16
Patti Busch - JBA Steering Committee 7-21-10
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:22
Amador County News TSPN TV with Alex Lane 7-21-10
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:11
Amador County Appeals Approval of Buena Vista Gaming Compact
Amador County - The County of Amador has filed an appeal in the Untied State Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in its long-standing litigation challenging approval by the Secretary of the Interior of an amendment to the gaming compact between the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians and the State of California that allows the construction of a casino in the unincorporated area of Amador County. The County’s lawsuit was filed on April 1, 2005. After a length delay, the trial court dismissed the case on January 8, 2009. The County filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider his ruling, which was denied on July 12, 2010. “The court’s ruling dismissing the case was on procedural grounds. The court stated that the Secretary’s ‘approval by inaction’ of the compact amendment was not reviewable by a court. We believe this decision is wrong, and welcome the chance to submit our case to the Court of Appeals,” said County Counsel Martha Shaver. The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians owns land south of the City of Ione in the unincorporated area of Amador County. The Tribe is moving forward with its efforts to construct a Class III casino on the property. The County’s lawsuit argues that the land is ineligible for gaming under Federal law. Via Release This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:09
Sutter Creek Looks at Removing Pot Dispensary Code
Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council gave staff direction Monday to work on a city ordinance on medical marijuana dispensaries. Councilwoman Linda Rianda asked the new city attorney for a status update on city marijuana code and possible options. Rianda said the city’s historic area had a prohibition on medical pot dispensaries, but zoning on Sutter Hill allowed it, according to acting City Manager Sean Rabe. Rianda said she had some concerns and had been following related litigation in municipalities across the state. City Attorney Derek P. Cole said courts had ruled in favor of the Southern California cities of Claremont and Corona, who had prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries. He said those rulings found that state law (created by Senate Bill 420) did not affect cities’ power to regulate or prohibit dispensaries within its city limits. Cole said another ruling was expected Monday (July 19th) in Anaheim, but the decision was deferred for 30 days. He said the Anaheim verdict was expected to deliver a “definitive ruling” on the law. Cole said the legalization of marijuana in California began with the 1996 passage of Proposition 215, creating the “Compassionate Use Act,” which allowed marijuana possession of a “reasonable amount.” He said a new statewide ballot measure (Proposition 19) if successful in November, would allow a person to possess up to but not more than 1 ounce of marijuana, and would allow for people to cultivate up to 25 square feet of marijuana in their residences. He said its passage would likely cause a wave of litigation, taking years to resolve. Cole said “any city cannot pass an ordinance that violates state or federal law,” and federal and state law both prohibit marijuana, but in California, medicinal marijuana is legal. He said the Obama administration has decreed that federal authorities will not prosecute people who are following their state law, such as simply using medical marijuana in California; and the state attorney general is not going to get involved. Cole said there is an application for a medical marijuana dispensary pending in Sutter Creek’s planning department. Cole said the city’s code allows application for a conditional use permit to open a pot dispensary. Cole said by the letter of the law, the current city code is illegal. Rianda supported removing that code, and Councilman Tim Murphy, Mayor Gary Wooten and Councilwoman Sandy Anderson agreed. Rianda said they should have Cole draft an ordinance to remove the city code, and then if the law changed in November, they could revisit the issue. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 06:06
Robert Allen Seeks Sutter Creek Medical Pot Dispensary Permit
Amador County – The applicant for a medical marijuana dispensary use permit spoke to the Sutter Creek City Council on Monday, saying he did not want to talk about legalizing pot, but rather about the law already in place. Robert Allen said he founded Gold Country Harvest Cooperative with the desire to open up a medical marijuana dispensary. He said medical pot helped his mother increase her appetite for food, and extended her life by 2 years. He asked Sutter Creek City Council to “slow down” and not “get on the anti-bandwagon like every other city” in Amador County. Allen said the city should look at Sacramento, which is pursuing the taxing of medical pot. Planning Commissioner Robin Peters asked City Attorney Derek P. Cole if commission approval of a pot dispensary could be seen as an illegal action in the strictest reading of the law. Cole said city laws cannot violate state or federal law. Peters said if the issue was not appealed, the city council would not even act on the conditional use permit, but he also said the permit would not come to the commission for a while. Cole said state law regulates formation of agricultural cooperatives, and medical pot co-ops. The co-op members can pay farmers for their time, but not for the marijuana. Councilman Pat Crosby said he knew nothing about the medical benefits of pot, and was very disappointed they could not have Walgreens sell pot. (Cole told him earlier that as a pharmacy, Walgreens would be regulated federally, and federal law prohibits marijuana sales.) Crosby said it is an apparent benefit to some people, and “if they do not allow it, it would be a disservice” to those people.” Vice Mayor Tim Murphy said medical pot prescriptions are “largely a scam,” and anyone could get them. He said the council “should have addressed this a year ago,” when he heard Allen’s story, “instead of waiting for an application.” Wooten said if it is illegal, they should get rid of the code, and Anderson said she had numerous calls, and “no one said they wanted a marijuana co-op.” She worried that Sutter Creek “could be the only legal corridor in the county,” and she did not want that to happen. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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