Cannabis club says let police grow it

Associated Press

FORT BRAGG A Northern California cannabis club has a solution for the
tricky legal problems surrounding the growth and distribution of medical
marijuana let local police do it.

The Ukiah Cannabis Buyers Club in Mendocino County this week proposed
using the Fort Bragg police station as a dispensary and a vacant field in
back as a garden.

Eros HamiltonTalbot, one of a dozen club members backing the plan, said
the idea is not as far out as it seems.

"There is a lot of public interest in this," she said. "People would feel
safer knowing that it's a totally legitimate place to go and acquire their
medicine."

Backers say it would get around ambiguities in the Medical Marijuana
Initiative approved by state voters last November, and provide a safer way
to dispense pot.

City officials are skeptical, but have agreed to consider the idea.

"Things that are brought in by citizens have to be considered," said Jim
Murphey, the Fort Bragg city administrator; who attended a recent meeting
at which the proposal was made. "It would definitely be problematic, but it
will very likely be put on the agenda of the public safety committee
sometime in September."

Although city officials are receptive to the idea, Fort Bragg police
Captain Rich Wiseman said the law, as it stands, would prevent such a
dispensary at police headquarters.

"We can't cultivate marijuana for any purpose. It's against the law,"
Wiseman said. "We're not a care provider. We're a law enforcement agency.
Until the law is changed, and that's where people should put their efforts,
we can't do it."

The idea certainly seems preposterous: A marijuana garden would be planted
on a plot of vacant land behind the police station, and a large conference
room inside the building would be used as a dispensary.

Baggies of buds, supplemented by confiscated and donated pot, would be
passed out to patrons bearing a doctor's written recommendation.

All this under the watchful eyes and noses of Fort Bragg police officers.

HamiltonTalbot, a volunteer with the Ukiah Cannabis Buyers Club, said
such a setup would be a good way around ambiguities in Proposition 215.

Prop. 215 allows individuals with a medical condition to grow and use
marijuana, but it does not protect those who distribute, buy or transport
pot. If it is dispensed at a police station, she said, growth and
distribution could be carefully monitored.

The contradictions in the law have created problems in San Jose, where I
city officials cracked down on a cannabis club for allegedly being too
close to schools, churches and homes. The city also tried to prohibit the
center from transporting marijuana.

Other Bay Area cities, such as Oakland and Fairfax, have ignored the state
law and allowed marijuana to be grown away from where it is distributed.

Meanwhile, the 6,500 residents in this rugged coastal town seem to favor
the proposed dispensary. Scores of people called local radio station KDAC
to talk about the issue yesterday, according to Jim Wagoner, the news
director. He said about 80 percent of the callers were in favor of medical
marijuana, and only one caller was opposed to the idea of a police dispensary.

Fort Bragg has historically been a hot spot for loggers and fishermen, but
Mendocino County is wellknown among pot smokers as one of the best growing
regions in the country. HamiltonTalbot said it is the perfect area for
such a progressive program.

"I think pot growing is our No.1 industry," she said. "They're
connoisseurs here."