US: Pot cases draw notice; Redding dispensary ban at issue

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Sean Longoria

Record-Searchlight

Thursday 19 Jan 2012

A California Supreme Court decision to hear two cases that inspired Redding's ban on medical cannabis dispensaries likely won't have immediate impact on the city's prohibition on the businesses.

But the city's attempt to defend its ordinance could be in jeopardy as the Supreme Court also de-published the appellate court decisions that sparked Redding's ban.

Court decisions that are published become state law.

Justices decided Wednesday to hear a total of four cases related to dispensaries. City officials drew on two of those cases — one from Long Beach and the other from Riverside — to support the November decision to ban dispensaries.

In the Long Beach case, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in October efforts by Long Beach officials to regulate collectives went beyond Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, and conflicted with federal law.

In Riverside, the 4th District Appellate Court in November upheld the city's ban on collectives despite Proposition 215 and the state Medical Marijuana Program of 2003, also known as SB 420.

"Now we have real evidence that the Pack case and the Riverside case are no longer the law of the land," said Max Del Real, a lobbyist with pro-patients rights group California Capitol Solutions.

Del Real said the City Council was given bad legal advice when it approved the ban

"I think Redding needs to recognize that for two years they were doing it right," he said.

City Attorney Rick Duvernay said the best course for Redding is to keep the ban in place until the courts and state lawmakers sort out the matter.

The city's permitting system for dispensaries, overturned by the council's Nov. 15 decision, was based on 2008 guidelines published by then-Attorney General Jerry Brown, Duvernay said.

Brown's successor, Kamala Harris, has since denounced the guidelines as insufficient and recently asked state legislators to clarify the law.

State lawmakers likely will wait after the Supreme Court's decision on the cases, which could take more than a year, Duvernay said.

"After that and depending on where the law lands at both levels, the city can consider any changes if that is the desire and will of the City Council," he said.

Redding is defending its ban in court after dispensaries sued the city seeking to overturn the prohibition.

A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 27, where a Shasta County judge will rule on whether to strike down the ban or issue an order forcing dispensaries to close.

But Superior Court Judge Stephen Baker, who's presiding over the case, can't rely on either the Long or Riverside cases in his decision because they've been de-published.

Attorney Alec Henderson, who's representing five Redding dispensaries in an attempt to overturn the city's ban, did not return a call Thursday seeking comment.

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/jan/19/pot-cases-draw-notice/

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