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Palm Springs Council May Put Lid On Pot Clubs
Moratorium may be imposed while regulations drawn
Stefanie Frith | The Desert Sun | 03/28/06

The City Council at its Wednesday meeting will consider putting the brakes on new medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, just a few days after a pot shop tried to open on North Palm Canyon Drive.

The new shop, Palm Springs Caregivers, was kept from opening on Saturday. It would have joined Collective Apothecary of Palm Springs (CAPS), which has been operating as a dispensary without a business license in downtown Palm Springs behind PS Scoops for about five months, said City Attorney Doug Holland. City Manager David Ready said there are also reports of a third shop opening, though he did not know where.

The moratorium proposal comes on the heels of problems Palm Desert-based CannaHelp has faced in its operation and Riverside County considering an extension of its ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. That ban was placed in August and it is expected today to be extended by county supervisors until August 2007.

And in December, the city of Indian Wells voted for a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries after an application was received for a pot shop in the Indian Wells Village.

Palm Springs currently does not have anything written in its codes about medical marijuana dispensaries, said Holland. In response to Palm Springs Caregivers and the possible third shop, as well as reports of alleged criminal activity around CAPS, the City Council will be asked to approve a 45-day moratorium on collectives and cooperatives until appropriate regulations can be adopted, said Holland. CAPS will be allowed to operate in the meantime and could face fines for operating without a business license, he said.

Helpful for patients

And that's good news for 21-year-old Joseph Cicogna, who spends about $100 a week on medical marijuana from CAPS. The Palm Springs resident has used medical marijuana for about two years to treat arthritis in his knees, the outcome of two years as a professional in-line skater, he said.

"It has really helped me," said Cicogna, who also uses medical marijuana for asthma. "They have been doing a really great job here. They have helped everyone I know."

On Saturday, Palm Springs Caregivers was scheduled to open at 2001 N. Palm Canyon Drive, next to Toucan's Tiki Lounge. But the owners were operating without a tenant improvement permit and Palm Springs Director of Building and Safety Don Duckworth said Monday he had to issue a stop work order at the end of last week.

Calls to Palm Springs Caregivers went unanswered Monday and there was no sign of occupancy at the store. A red stop-work tag hung from the door and the strong smell of marijuana hung in the air.

Miguel Linares, who hosted a grand opening for his new store, Palm Springs Consignments, over the weekend, said there were several people who walked by his shop to get to Palm Springs Caregivers. Many asked him for information and he said he was surprised to learn there already a dispensary in downtown.

"I don't have any issues with it (being next to my store)," said Linares. "The only issue that could be a problem is that you have a pot shop next to a bar."

City unsure of legality

The city said it is grappling with the issue of the legality of allowing medical marijuana dispensaries.

Under federal law, growing and selling marijuana is illegal. But California law allows collectives and cooperatives to grow medical marijuana for patients who have letters of recommendations from their doctors.

"We don't know what to do," said Ready. "It's still illegal federally."

On March 14, agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency raided the Sky Valley home of Gary Silva, a CannaHelp client who had been growing medical marijuana for the dispensary. Silva was not arrested and about 70 plants were confiscated.

Ready said there is also a concern of possible crime in the area around CAPS, which could be extended to Palm Springs Caregivers. Palm Springs Sgt. Mitch Spike said there have only been two reports about CAPS that he can talk about. On Feb. 24, a window was broken at the business and on March 24, the police department received some complaints from surrounding businesses about odors coming from CAPS, said Spike.

As for any other problems, Spike said the department was "not prepared" to talk about them yet because they relate to an ongoing investigation. He added Chief Gary Jeandron also has concerns, but declined to talk about them.

Problems with pot?

An interview at CAPS Monday was canceled due to a worker's family emergency and no one was available for comment.

Cicogna said the only complaints he has ever heard about have to do with patients receiving their medical marijuana on Thursdays and then smoking it in public during VillageFest.

And Joy Meredith, president of the downtown Palm Springs merchants' association Main Street, said she has never received any complaints from business owners about CAPS. And that's saying something, she said, because she receives complaints about everything.

"I would think that as long as it is being regulated, then it seems to me it would be a very safe dispensary," said Meredith.

Trying to be sympathetic

Lanny Swerdlow, director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, which meets at the Cathedral City Public Library each month, said he is not against Palm Springs' proposed moratorium. However, he is against it being written by city staff without the input of medical marijuana patients and activists such as himself. He said he doesn't trust the city manager to write an ordinance that is sympathetic to patients.

"It should (be written so that) patients can obtain safe, reliable and affordable (medical marijuana)," said Swerdlow, adding medical marijuana can sell for up to $400 for one ounce. But at least you know you are getting a higher quality than what you might purchase on the streets, he said.

Cicogna said places like CAPS get a bad rap and as long as both the dispensary and the patients "stick to the rules," there shouldn't be any problems. A couple hundred people a day go to CAPS, he said.

"Just buy it and go home," he said.

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