cannabisnews.com: Woman Says She'll Sue if Dispensary Ban Continues





Woman Says She'll Sue if Dispensary Ban Continues
Posted by CN Staff on November 21, 2004 at 09:15:50 PT
By Francis P. Garland, Lode Bureau Chief
Source: Stockton Record 
San Andreas -- A San Andreas woman says she'll sue if the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors votes Monday to continue the ban on establishing medical-marijuana dispensaries. Kim Cue, 29, applied to open a dispensary earlier this year, but the county's zoning laws do not authorize such uses.
Supervisors are considering a law that would allow dispensaries in certain locations, but there is speculation they will reject the proposal. The county's Planning Commission voted against the rule change earlier this month, saying the dispensaries aren't in residents' best interest, because the county has no appropriate locations for such businesses. Under the proposed rules, the dispensaries would not be allowed within 1,000 feet of any school, library, park or youth-oriented establishment. California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which legalized the use of marijuana to treat certain illnesses. Cue said that law means she should have the right to operate a dispensary that provides patients with the marijuana they need. "The people have spoken," said Cue, who has been working for two years to open a medical-marijuana dispensary. "And people are dying ... because of cancer, AIDS and other diseases. But there is a way we can help them, and we need to do it." If the county's plan for dispensaries continues, supervisors "would be headed for one of the fattest lawsuits they've ever seen," Cue said this week. "This is not a maybe," said Cue, who said she uses marijuana to help her cope with post-traumatic stress syndrome. She cares for 300 people who have legitimate medical needs for marijuana. Board Chairman Tom Tryon said earlier this month that he did not oppose the idea of medical-marijuana dispensaries. "These things are all over the place, and they don't hurt anyone," he said. "They're no different than a liquor store or going to the pharmacy." But some county officials, including Sheriff Dennis Downum, are skeptical. Downum said dispensaries are nothing more than a way to "circumvent drug-dealing laws." Even one of the county's staunchest medical-marijuana advocates said he does not endorse the concept of dispensaries. David Jack, who helped spearhead the effort to create medical-marijuana guidelines in the county more than four years ago, said sick patients are best served by cooperatives where patients help grow marijuana by donating time or materials. Jack said cooperatives and their larger network of collectives take what he called "pot-repreneurs" out of the picture and allow people to help care for one another. "You don't get any of that help from a dispensary," Jack said. "You just come through the door and slap down money and get out of there." Cue, though, said that's not her philosophy. "I have zero tolerance for kids who get it in their minds that there is a cannabis club opening, and it's going to be fun," she said. "That's not what this is about. It's about life and death and sick people. This is very, very serious." Angels Camp adopted rules earlier this year to regulate medical-marijuana dispensaries. However, Cue said the law placed too many limits on how dispensaries could operate, making it impossible to find a suitable location. "I'd have to buy property and put in water and sewer and build a building," she said. "I don't happen to have $500,000 laying around to do that. I'm just trying to help people." Newshawk: MayanSource: Record, The (CA)Author: Francis P. Garland, Lode Bureau ChiefPublished: Saturday, November 20, 2004 Copyright: 2004 The RecordContact: editor recordnet.comWebsite: http://www.recordnet.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmPlanners Want To Snuff Pot Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19789.shtmlPot Club Seeks To Operate in San Andreashttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19562.shtml
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