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County Formally Bans Distribution of Marijuana
RIVERSIDE: Supervisors' action falls just short of a full prohibition on growing cooperatives.
Kimberly Trone | Press-Enterprise | 10/03/2006

Riverside County supervisors Tuesday formally imposed a ban on marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas and joined other counties in a court challenge of state medical-marijuana laws.

Supervisor Roy Wilson dissented, saying the ban defies a state requirement that local governments establish ways for patients to obtain the drug.

Wilson said the board has forced sick people to turn to the black market to obtain a product that voters decriminalized in 1996 for qualified patients.

The board stopped short of an outright prohibition on marijuana-growing cooperatives, but it banned the distribution of marijuana to care-givers, qualified patients or patients with a state identification card even at marijuana-growing co-ops, which are legal under state law.

Supervisor Jeff Stone, a pharmacist, said the board is seeking clarity in the courts about conflicting state and federal laws. Federal law makes it a crime to grow, possess or sell marijuana for any reason.

District Attorney Grover Trask said he won't prosecute patients who use marijuana in accordance with state laws. Trask's successor, Deputy District Attorney Rod Pacheco, agreed his office has no authority to prosecute patients who are following state laws.

However, Stacy Hochanadel, 30, owner of CannaHelp dispensary in Palm Desert, said he was arrested and is being prosecuted for using hashish pills. Hochanadel said he has spent $40,000 on legal fees to open his shop and defend himself from prosecution.

Hochanadel, who said he lost his large intestine due to a parasite and deals with chronic pain, said he is within his rights to use hashish under state law. He accused county officials of squandering taxpayer dollars to undermine the will of the voters.

Riverside County is continuing to issue voluntary state identification cards to patients who use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

Voters in 12 states, including California, have decriminalized medical marijuana.

Reach Kimberly Trone at 951-368-9456 or ktrone@PE.com

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