City Administrator Dale Neiman asked Police Chief Allan McClain to research some options to deal with the thorny issue of dispensaries in the city limits. McClain brought the results of his work to the council Thursday night.

Last April, the council extended for a year an interim urgency ordinance that had been adopted the year before, as Lake County News has reported.

That ordinance created a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries within the city limits, but it may have been unnecessary and contradictory to California's Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana, said McClain.

The moratorium also couldn't be extended any longer, McClain said, and if a new one was introduced it would have required a new set of legal arguments.

The city originally had adopted the measure hoping that some precedent-setting medical marijuana court cases – including one in San Diego County – might be resolved and shed some additional light on how cities should deal with the contradictions between state and federal law, said McClain.

But with those suits still in the courts – and likely to be for years to come – McClain suggested that the city could find itself on the wrong side of a lawsuit if it took a position outside of established city ordinances that currently don't allow business licenses to be issued for any activity “in violation of any federal, state or municipal law.” Since medical marijuana isn't recognized by federal law, that ordinance would, by default, cover medical marijuana dispensaries.

McClain said that dispensaries currently operating in the city have business licenses for other products – such as medicinal herbs – and some didn't get licenses at all because they knew they couldn't.

“There never have been any licenses issued in the city of Clearlake for someone to dispense medical marijuana,” said McClain.

Council member Joyce Overton said she would like the city to follow the lead of other municipalities and require medical marijuana to be grown in enclosed spaces to prevent the smell bothering neighbors. McClain said he was looking at such an ordinance now.

McClain also asked the council for how his agency should proceed with respect to those dispensaries that continue to operate.

Neiman said the council could direct police staff to cite dispensaries, which they don't currently do.

Dave McCullick of D&M Compassion Center urged the council to allow the dispensaries to continue to operate in order to give patients safe, legal access to organically grown medical marijuana.

McCullick said he believes the state eventually will win the medical marijuana argument with the federal government, and pointed to legislation set to be introduced that will stop federal agencies from becoming involved with medical marijuana decisions made by states.

He also argued that business licenses are not regulatory but a way to obtain business revenue for the city. Medical marijuana is beneficial for many people, McCullick added, noting that dispensaries such as his have been “a good part of the community.”

City resident Alice Reece asked if D&M Compassion Center pays sales tax. Neiman said the state collects it and the city receives 1 percent of the 7-percent tax.

Mayor Curt Giambruno asked McClain if there had been problems over the last two years with medical marijuana purchased at the dispensaries bing sold to children.

McClain said it's hard to say where the marijuana that is found on the streets originates.

However, he added that his officers have arrested people with large amounts of marijuana who said they were working for local dispensaries. He said there have been other incidents – including shootings – linked to medical marijuana.

He said he felt Proposition 215 was “way too open” about how medical marijuana should be handled.

McClain said he has been to McCullick's business and spoken with him, and hasn't had any issues. Nor has the police department made any moves to shut down the dispensary.

The only way to change the current police approach was for the council to direct it. “If you don't do that nothing's going to change as we go forward,” said McClain.

Ultimately, the council agreed with McClain's suggestion to simply rely on city ordinance in order to avoid potential liability.

Clearlake's approach to medical marijuana has been less aggressive than that taken by Lakeport. In that city, the council adopted an ordinance in March of 2007 to ban medical marijuana cultivation within city limits. The move was taken because officials cited concerns over public safety and plant odor.

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