Medical Marijuana Bans Get A Lifeline

As the state courts consider several pending legal cases that challenge bans on medical marijuana facilities, a bill that may help the anti-cannabis cause in Lake Elsinore and Wildomar is awaiting Governor Jerry Brown’s signature.

Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-Van Nuys) has authored AB 1300, which, if signed by the governor, paves the way for cities and counties to ban medical marijuana cooperatives and collectives.

Under the bill, which passed the state Assembly on June 3 and the state Senate on Aug. 15, local municipalities could adopt ordinances “that regulate the location, operation, or establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative or collective.”

While cities and counties already have bans in place – including Riverside County, and the cities of Lake Elsinore and Wildomar -- challenges exist.

A Lake Elsinore medical marijuana collective, which has gone by the names 420 Hitters, Lake Elsinore Medical Collective and R Side Medical, was earlier this year but was

The stay overrides the December 2009 decision by the Lake Elsinore City Council to ban medical marijuana operations in the city.

A Wildomar medical marijuana collective known as Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group was forced to close down last year due to the city’s ban, On March 1, the appellate court issued a writ of supersedeas and ordered that a preliminary injunction issued by the Riverside Superior Court be stayed pending resolution of an appeal.

In California, medical marijuana is legal under the state's Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and the subsequent Medical Marijuana Program Act that became law on Jan.1, 2004.

But neither act provides clear direction on whether cities and counties can legally ban medical marijuana operations.

It’s unclear what impact AB 1300, if signed into law, would have on existing legal challenges to the bans, but the bill has pro-marijuana groups worried.

Dale Jones, chair of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform, is calling on medical marijuana supporters to contact the governor and denounce the bill.

On Tuesday, he forwarded a message from Americans for Safe Access that blasts the legislation.

“(The bill) is not what voters intended when they adopted Proposition 215 in 1996 ... ,’” the Americans for Safe Access message read.

In addition to AB 1300, Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) has authored SB 847, which is also awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill requires that medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives be located at least 600 feet from any residential zone or use. SB 847 passed the state Assembly on Aug. 25 and the state Senate on June 1.

“(SB 847) will force patients' associations to the outskirts of most cities -- if they can find a location at all!” according to the Americans for Safe Access message.