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4A Wednesday, March 2, 2011 Indian Valley Record
Portola City Council reviews rna'ijuana ordinance
Diana Jorgenson
Staff Writer
djorgenson@plumasnews.com
At the Feb. 2 meeting of the
Portola City Council, City At-
torney Steve Gross intro-
duced a draft of a five-page or-
dinance to ban medical mari-
juana dispensaries within
city limits. After considera-
tion, Ordinance No. 339 will
be back on the Feb. 23 agenda
for approval and become ef-
fective March 23.
The ordinance banning dis-
pensaries followed two meet-
ings of discussions on the sub-
ject: the first allowing a pair of
applicants to present their
proposal for setting up a dis-
pensary in Portola and the
second primarily a presenta-
tion of local law enforcement
protest against doing so. Com-
ments from the public both for
and against the idea were re-
ceived at both meetings in ap-
proximately equal measure.
The lengthy ordinance cites
both state and federal regula.
tions. At the first meeting,
Gross had expressed the fed-
eral government's public
statement that it would not
prosecute persons otherwise
protected by a state's medical
marijuana statutes. However,
the ordinance announces " ...
the federal Drug Enforcement
Agency has enforced the Con-
trolled Substances Act
,against dispensary operators
and others who help supply
patients in California with
medical marijuana... "
In balancing "adherence" to
both federal and state law, the
ordinance included this sec-
tion regarding "Relationship
to Other Laws," a paragraph
that only a lawyer could love:
"This chapter is not intend-
ed to, nor shall it be construed
or given effect in a manner
that causes it to apply to any
activity that is regulated by
federal or state law to the ex-
tent that application of this
chapter would conflict with
such law or would unduly in-
terfere with the achievement
of federal or state regulatory
purposes."
The ordinance based its in-
ception on fears of what might
occur if a dispensary were to
be located in the city. It liber-
ally states fears of increased
burglaries and criminal activ-
ity, loitering, false ID cards,
smell, traffic complaints,
noise and inadequate property
maintenance. The list was re-
peated several times through-
out the ordinance and it
averred that a dispensary
would require increased law
enforcement efforts.
The draft ordinance also de-
fined the meaning of a med-
ical marijuana dispensary
and upheld a person's right to
cultivate medicinal marijua-
na at his residence as recom-
mended by a physician.
The ordinance went a cou-
ple steps beyond banning
when it also declared the es-
tablishment of medical mari-
juana dispensaries a public
nuisance, punishable by law.
The penalty for disobedi-
ence is set at a $1,000 fine or
imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than six
months.
The icing on the cake: if the
city, Plumas County or the
district attorney brings suit
against a person in violation
of this ordinance, that person
shall repay the city or the
county for the cost of the suit,
including attorneys' fees, ex-
pert fees and other costs.
ff that isn't enough, the or-
dinance invites the city, the
county and the DA to prose-
cute violations as a criminal
offense to boot.
That, in short, is the'ordi-
nance as it stands.
Council member William
Weaver began comment dur-
ing the most recent discussion
by announcing that through
research on the Internet he
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had discovered that seven Cal- aggressive breast cancer, requirements for getting a also seen on the Internet that
ifornia cities, ag larger than
Portola, had medical marijua-
na dispensaries.
Mayor Dan Wilson, who
was the only "no" vote
against the banning ordi-
nance, added that one of them
was San Andreas, a city that
had located its dispensary
next to the sheriff's office.
Wilson also thought that it
was likely that persons who
were ill and in need of med-
ical marijuana would proba-
bly not be well enough to at-
tend public meetings, thus he
thought their interests had
not been represented.
He referred to paragraph
five of the drafted ordinance
as being incomplete or un-
clear when it refers to mari-
juana as a "schedule I
drug."
"What I think should be in-
cluded in here is that a 'sched-
ule I drug' or narcotic has to
also be a drug which has no
known medical value, and
that's not included here."
He cite'd a study done in
1974, in which the federal
government gave a grant to
the medical school of Rich-
mond, Va., to prove that mar-
ijuana killed the immune sys-
tem. Researchers found out
the opposite: that marijuana
killed brain tumor cells, a
special type of leukemia and
Once the results were known,
the government pulled the
funds from the study.
"I had never heard about
this study until 2011," Wilson
said. He said the study was re-
peated 30 years later in 2004 at
the University of Madrid on
brain tumors. Researchers
got the same results. They dis-
covered that marijuana also
helps preveot the spread of
cancer throughout the body.
In 2006, the same university
tested marijuana on aggres-
sive breast cancer and got the
same results. It worked on hu-
man subjects ("in vivo") and
in test tubes Cin vitro").
"The cornerstone of this or-
dinance is the federal law
against marijuana -- the fact
that it's a schedule I drug or
narcotic, and it's pretty obvi-
ous that it has some medical
value and it will be over-
turned in 50 years or at some
time," Wilson said.
Ricky Ross said that he had
attended a federal drug test-
ing supervisors' training pro-
gram and had asked why mar-
ijuana was included on the
drug testing. The instructor
said the only reason he could
figure out why it was includ-
ed is that it stays in your body
fo/" so long. They don't know
the long-term effects, so had
to test for it as one of the
Class A license.
Weaver said he had seen on
the Internet that there are
plans to bottle it in soda bot-
tles.
Larry Douglas asked what
the ci.ty could do if it passed
this ordinance and then
changed its mind.
Council member John Lar-
rieu said that the ordinance
could be repealed at any time,
as could any ordinance. Gross
agreed.
Gross also clarified that fed-
eral standards were one basis
for the ordinance, but it was
also based on the testimony of
Sheriff Greg Hagwood about
adverse secondary impacts
that might come with a med-
ical marijuana dispensary.
"Are you talking about the
muggings and shootings that
will take place in front of the
store?" asked Wilson.
"Those were some of the
things the sheriff mentioned,"
said Gross.
"I respectfully disagree
with that attitude," said Wil-
son.
He said in bad neighbor-
hoods in large cities, these
things could happen in front
of a flower shop. He thought
the type of neighborhood was
more important in drawing
these violent acts.
Weaver noted that he had
there had been fighting in
front of a store on Folsom Av-
enue in Sacramento.
"My 'caregiver' is Portola
Village Pharmacy," said Wil-
son. "I am not afraid of being
mugged when I leave there."
Wilson followed up with
concerns for those who were
ill and not feeling well enough
to grow their own marijuana.
Even when one was well, gar-
dening in this mountain cli-
mate is not easy. Or patients
are told they can get it on the
street.
These answers do not really
address the medicinal aspects
of marijuana. Wilson found in
his research that there are
lots of different types of mari-
juana. He named a type that
was useful for insomnia, and
another non-drowsy type
helpful to HIV patients. "It's
very complex," he said.
Ross clarified an earlier
comment he had made about
locating the dispensary along
state Route 70. He thought it
didn't represent Portola well
in such a visible location, but
otherwise he didn't object to
it in a less visible spot.
Wilson then closed public
comment. The motion to in-
troduce the ordinance and to
place it on a future agenda for
adoption then passed 3 to 1,
Curt McBride absent.
Christian School students offered
kicks and a stroll down memory lane
Michelle Ayers
Special to Feather Publishing
The Lake Almanor Christ-
ian High School hosted its
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first Valentine's Sock Hop
and Dinner event Sunday,
Feb. 13, at the Lake Almanor
Community Church.
The purpose of the event
If it's something we 1
can't fix, we'll find J
somebody who can. [
Genend Building Contractor
Calif. Lic. #453927
(530) 283-2035
00ATTY
SINCE 1914 m
dermalogica
Skin Party
Thursday
March 10
was to raise funds for the stu- of all ages in attendance. The
dents' March science and students raised more than
technology field trip. $1,500, nearly twice the
The event was a huge suc- amount they anticipated.
cess, with more than 150 people Attending the sock hop was
like stepping back in time. As
guests arrived they were
greeted with a blast from the
past: a '57 Chevy, all in lights,
on loan for the evening from
Bob and Karen Merriman.
Upon entering the church,
guests were transported back
in time. If the sound of '50s
tunes, provided by DJ Buzz
Barrett, wasn't enough, the
room's d6cor really notched
up the wow factor.
Working On a shoestring
budget, the students made all
of their own decorations,
from life-size dancing •silhou-
ettes, to a full soda shop, a
crepe paper canopy and hand
sewn poodle skirts.
The evening started with a
spaghetti dinner, trimmed
with homemade meatballs.
The students rolled more than
640 meatballs using meat do-
nated by Bigg's Butchery at
Young's Market in Westwood.
Lake Almanor Christian Following dinner, the place
came alive when the dance mu-
High School students were
sic started and for two hours
all dressed up and ready to
the dance floor was filled with
rock during their first offer- the jitterbug, the twist, West
ing of a "Valentine's Sock
Hop and Dinner" event Feb. Coast swing, the stroll and nu-
15. Front row, from left: merous aerial moves pre-
Alexander Davidge, Tyler formedby the students.
Johnson, Virginia Erickson, The evening would not have
Joseph Luna, Jose Flores been complete without a soda
and Tim de Martimprey. shop. From mini sundaes to
Back, from left: Hayley rock candy, the soda shop
Schlobohm, Ben Erickson, proved to be a hit.
Macayla Ayers, Jessica Thanks to generous dona-
Contresas and principal tions from The Lassen Gift
Gwen Meinhardt. Company, there was ice
cream for all and vintage soda
shop d6cor to delight the eyes.
Rock candy, provided by
Photo
submitted The Candy Shoppe, helped the
guests walk down memory
lane one more time.
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