[420 Girl]

An Atascadero woman has sued the county and Sheriff Pat Hedges, claiming a raid last year that led to the closure of a Morro Bay marijuana dispensary violated her constitutional right to medicinal cannabis.

The case filed June 20 by Elaine McKellips, 56, illustrates an ongoing legal battle between conflicting state and federal laws surrounding medical marijuana use.

In her lawsuit, McKellips alleges that Hedges:
• violated the state constitutional right of her and others to medical marijuana;
• illegally raided the Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers marijuana dispensary on March 29 using a federal search warrant instead of a state search warrant;
• violated confidentiality laws by seizing medical records; and
• inflicted emotional distress on her and other patients when denying them access to medical marijuana.

McKellips is asking for an unlimited amount in compensation and an investigation by the county to determine if the sheriff spent taxpayer dollars appropriately during the probe of the dispensary and whether the sheriff violated his duty to uphold state laws, according to the complaint.

Sheriff’s officials declined to comment Tuesday on the lawsuit.

McKellips, who suffers from chronic medical conditions including degenerative disc disease, gastroparesis, seizure disorder and spastic esophagus, is basing her lawsuit on California law that permits the use of marijuana for prescribed medical purposes.

Federal law, however, forbids any possession or dispensing of marijuana.

“One of the issues with all the medical marijuana stuff is, even if California says it’s OK, federal drug law pre-empts state law,” said professor Georgene M. Vairo of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

“Eventually it will get resolved. If these cases become a real problem and the state doesn’t know what to do, I imagine one of these cases is going to go to federal court and the pre-emption rulings are going to start flying.”

For now, the conflict exists and many medical marijuana patients and dispensary owners in California are caught in the middle.

Charles Lynch of Arroyo Grande, the former owner of the Morro Bay dispensary, was charged in federal court in July 2007, shortly after the raid. Among the charges is an allegation that he distributed marijuana to people younger than 21. His trial is set to begin Tuesday.

Abe Baxter, a former security officer at the dispensary, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana or hashish for sale and selling or furnishing the drug, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges and is scheduled to appear in state court July 31 for a pretrial conference.

No other dispensaries have opened in San Luis Obispo County since the closure of the Morro Bay co-op.

In April, county supervisors barred a medical marijuana dispensary planned for Templeton, saying it was too close to a playground and did not fit with the character of the community.


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