[420 Girl]

Law Similar To Marina, Seaside Bans

Salinas became the third city in Monterey County to ban medical marijuana dispensaries after a divided council voted Tuesday for an ordinance that prohibits their establishment.

After 75 minutes of debate, Mayor Dennis Donohue joined council members Steve Villegas, Janet Barnes and Tony Barrera in voting to adopt an ordinance that bans stores from selling pot for medical use. Marina and Seaside adopted similar measures earlier this year.

Councilwoman Jyl Lutes, whose first husband died of cancer and saw the relief he experienced from marijuana, was the most fervent supporter of allowing medical dispensaries in the city. She said it was unfair to ask patients to drive to Santa Cruz -- the closest place where marijuana can be obtained legally -- or to grow it in their backyard, as Deputy City Attorney Chris Callihan said is allowed by state law for sick patients.

"When you get a spinal cord injury, or are diagnosed with cancer, you don't get nine months to grow ( the plant )," Lutes said. "It's disingenuous to say you can grow it yourself after a sudden occurrence or injury."

But top law enforcement officials, including District Attorney Dean Flippo and Monterey County Sheriff's Cmdr. Douglas Dahmen, said state and federal law don't allow marijuana shops -- the law only allows people who demonstrate a medical need for the drug and their caregivers to carry it. Dahmen said the county would be at risk of losing federal funds for its gang task force if the city contravened federal regulations.

"If medical marijuana passes, federal funding would be seriously jeopardized," Dahmen said.

As part of his report to the council, Callihan showed a news clip about a federal raid to a medical marijuana dispensary in Modesto, where the Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated two vehicles, 60 pounds of pot, and $16,000 in cash. The DEA also raided seven homes where they believed pot was being grown. The dispensary, federal law enforcement officials argued, had become a storefront not only for marijuana, but for other drugs.

With all of Salinas' problems, starting with its gang violence, the majority of the council said they didn't want to add more.

"We have enough problems," Barnes said.

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