Madera County Supervisors voted unanimously to implement an emergency ban on dispensaries.
A couple dozen of us showed up and voiced our opinion in favor of medical cannabis to no avail. Three Fresno news stations were there.
(Saw myself on TV last night) The Sheriff, the DA and a church minister spoke against us. Below is the article in the Fresno Bee today.
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/1647660.html
Madera Co. bans pot dispensaries
Published online on Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2009
By Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
Madera County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an ordinance that bans medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.
Supervisors said dispensaries can increase crime, including drug-dealing, robbery and loitering, which impairs the health, safety and welfare of the community.
There are three medical marijuana dispensaries in Madera County -- one in Oakhurst, one outside Madera city limits and one near Highway 41 and Avenue 15, east of Madera.
They have been operating without a permit, Supervisor Frank Bigelow said.
Now, they will be shut down because the ordinance takes effect immediately, he said.
A 1996 California voter initiative allowed the use of medical marijuana. But the act does not "expressly authorize medical marijuana dispensaries," the ordinance said, and the state has not given counties or cities direction on how to implement the act.
Federal law treats marijuana as an illegal drug.
An explosion of medical marijuana dispensaries across the state has left cities and counties scrambling to figure out how to handle them.
Fresno, for example, has sued nine such dispensaries in an attempt to shut them down.
The reporter can be reached at plopez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6434.
