Supervisors Hear Plea For Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

[Ganjarden]

Butte County's supervisors have been asked to give serious consideration to a topic that rarely reaches their agenda — marijuana.

Tuesday, during a section of the Board of Supervisors' agenda that allows people to bring things before the panel, but prohibits the supervisors to take any action or even to comment, a small group asked that the county establish regulations for marijuana dispensaries.

Rick Tognoli, who said he owns a trucking and grading business and is the head of the "SOS Cannabis Collective," urged the supervisors to adopt rules that would allow for places where people with the appropriate Proposition 215 medical marijuana cards could purchase their "medicine."

Tognoli said he would like to see a way to open some of these sales locations in places that comply with laws that prohibit them within specified distances from churches, schools and playgrounds.

Explaining he is 45 years old and suffers from degenerative spinal disks, Tognoli said he has to go to Sacramento to legally purchase his medicine.

He said if the county established the regulations for such operations, it could also create taxing rules for cannabis transactions.

Charles Porter, who went before the supervisors in a wheelchair, explained he too has degenerative disk problems. He outlined a list of heavy prescription pain medications he has to take for the condition, but said, since he doesn't drive, he has to take a bus to Sacramento to purchase cannabis.

Porter told the board the bus trip costs more than the marijuana.

George Menas, who regularly attends supervisors' meeting as an observer, got up to speak Tuesday.

While he said that he "hates the stuff" and never "imbibes," and that he thinks the idea of storefront cannabis dispensaries are a "dumb way to go," he told the board he would encourage them to find ways to legally allow hospitals or pharmacies to sell marijuana to those with medical recommendations.

While the board, following the law, neither discussed nor acted on the proposal, Tognoli said if the supervisors put the item on the formal agenda at some future date he would be happy to provide them additional information.


News Hawk- Ganjarden http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record
Author: Roger H. Aylworth
Contact: Chico Enterprise-Record
Copyright: 2009 Chico Enterprise-Record
Website: Supervisors hear plea for medical marijuana dispensaries