Number of medical marijuana co-ops could drop

An ordinance adopted this week by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors will change how medical marijuana is distributed in unincorporated areas.

In anticipation that conflicting state and federal laws might soon be aligned, it is the first such legislation to be in enacted in Tulare County. To the disappointment of medical marijuana users, and supporters, a “clean up” provision in the ordinance could shut down some, if not all, of the five outlets currently in operation.

“No one is questioning the merits [of medical marijuana],” Supervisor, Dist. 2, Pete Vander Poel said. “How can something be legal here in Tulare County because the state says so, but the Feds don’t agree with that?”

The decision, effective Dec. 10, was made in a unanimous vote Tuesday morning. It restricts where the marijuana can be smoked, how many plants can be grown and caps the number of distribution outlets to three.

With the passage, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department will be able to inspect each of the five distribution sites to see whether they are in compliance. If the department opts to investigate the sites, it will check for new criteria, such as whether they are in compliance with the maximum number of plants allowed (99), that edibles or drinkables are not offered and that cultivation is taking place within a secured structure.

The law now affects operations that have until now gone unregulated, like Tipton based Earth Meds, which provides medical marijuana to card holders in Porterville, Terra Bella, Earlimart and other nearby communities.

Owner Melanie Mendez is worried that the patients she and others like her service will not be able to obtain their medical marijuana if the organizations are limited to three. She urged the board of supervisors to keep the ones in Exeter, Ivanhoe, Goshen and Visalia intact.

“If you take away [people’s] choices in rural communities where public transportation is not an option, it makes it that much harder for those patients to obtain the medications that they need,” she said.

Next week, newly promoted Capt. Mike Boudreaux will help determine how to enforce the ordinance. He is sure that each outlet will be looked at on a case by case basis, with those investigated submitted to the District Attorney for review, according to spokeswoman Sgt. Chris Douglass.

According to the federal government, smoking marijuana, even for medical purposes, is illegal. That legislation, however, is at odds with California law enacted by voters a few years ago that prevents law enforcement from punishing marijuana users when a physician has recommended its use to treat serious medical conditions.

The only distribution sites currently permitted in California are collectives and cooperatives, where transactions of medical marijuana between cardholders are facilitated without incurring a profit. Dispensaries, or other for-profit shops, are illegal.

In the past, federally led criminal raids were led to halt the drug’s distribution, but the Obama administration recently declared it would stop cracking down on the 14 states that allow medical marijuana.

“The fact that this in place does not mean that your board has authorized the activity, it does not change the state law regulation and all of this is still illegal under federal law,” said County Counsel Kathleen Bales-Lange.
Other stipulations included in the ordinance include:

-  Smoke can not encroach upon adjacent properties or public areas

-  Collectives and cooperatives must obtain business licenses which expire and must be renewed annually

- Smoking medical marijuana within the collectives or cooperatives is not permitted

Lynda Fitzpatrick, a Tipton Community Council member, told supervisors on Tuesday that their new restrictions will harm communities that are beneficiaries of medical marijuana cooperatives’ generosity.

She said the owners of Earth Meds make regular donations to local churches and schools, such as providing books for children, food to the hungry and a new Friday night movie night at the United Methodist Church.

“We’d be at a great loss without them,” she said.

At the request of Supervisor, Dist. 4, Allen Ishida, the board will review the ordinance six month after it takes effect.

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.