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The city of Hercules has banned cannabis clubs, a decision critics say was made in violation of laws requiring that the public be alerted of such actions.
The Hercules City Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance that makes medical marijuana dispensaries illegal without mentioning the clubs specifically.
But critics say the agenda item for an April 25 meeting where the proposal was debated was written in bureaucratic jargon and didn't specifically mention medical marijuana.
The agenda item "certainly violates at least the spirit of the Brown Act if not the letter," said Rachel Matteo-Boehm, an attorney speaking for the California First Amendment Coalition. The Brown Act requires that the public be told what is scheduled for discussion at meetings.
Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, said the agenda description is "definitely misleading."
"I wouldn't even qualify it as a description," he said.
City attorneys say Hercules complied with the law but conceded the agenda item could have been more specific.
California voters in 1996 approved marijuana for medical use with a doctor's recommendation. The federal government considers marijuana an illegal drug.
News hawk: Happykid - 420Times.com
Source: cbs5.com
Author: The A.P.
Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press
The Hercules City Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance that makes medical marijuana dispensaries illegal without mentioning the clubs specifically.
But critics say the agenda item for an April 25 meeting where the proposal was debated was written in bureaucratic jargon and didn't specifically mention medical marijuana.
The agenda item "certainly violates at least the spirit of the Brown Act if not the letter," said Rachel Matteo-Boehm, an attorney speaking for the California First Amendment Coalition. The Brown Act requires that the public be told what is scheduled for discussion at meetings.
Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, said the agenda description is "definitely misleading."
"I wouldn't even qualify it as a description," he said.
City attorneys say Hercules complied with the law but conceded the agenda item could have been more specific.
California voters in 1996 approved marijuana for medical use with a doctor's recommendation. The federal government considers marijuana an illegal drug.
News hawk: Happykid - 420Times.com
Source: cbs5.com
Author: The A.P.
Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press
