’POT CLUB’ THRIVES IN OILDALE

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'POT CLUB' THRIVES IN OILDALE

Doctor's Signature, Long Application Required Before Drug Sold to Users

The dry-erase menu board inside the modest storefront has an
interesting array of offerings.

There's Mexican Red Bud, Northern California Outdoor and Mendocino
Skunk. And the store even offers marijuana-laced candy bars wrapped to
look like store brands.

This isn't liberal Berkeley, Santa Cruz or Los Angeles, where "pot
clubs" have operated for several years.

It's downtown Oildale, where it's been for about year.

All the varieties offered for sale at the local pot club are sold
legally. But no one buys, or even enters the premises without a
scheduled appointment and a doctor's note prescribing marijuana for
their illness.

And smoking is not permitted.

The cannabis dispensary is similar to those operating in cities like
San Francisco, where medicinal marijuana patients are issued
identification cards that confirm they have a doctor's
recommendation.

California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Proposition 215) has
finally made it to Kern County. The law allows people to use marijuana
for ailments such as cancer, arthritis and migraines if recommended by
a doctor.

The law is becoming even more refined across the state, notably with a
bill that went into effect in January. That law mandates the state to
set up a voluntary identification card-issuing program for patients.
It also allows patients to designate "caregivers" to grow marijuana
for them.

Local shop owner Joe Fortt took those laws to heart when he opened
American Kenpo Kung Fu School of Public Health about a year ago in
Oildale, selling weed to medicinal marijuana users and signing up
about 50 patients who designated him as a caregiver.

Fortt believes people have a right to smoke marijuana for health
reasons and that the drug far surpasses prescription drugs, without
the negative side effects.

"There is not a patient on our list that's not struggling to survive,"
he said.

Sick people shouldn't be buying their medicine on the streets where
it's dangerous, he said. And people who need it appreciate coming to a
place that's local, safe and reasonable, he said.

"I've taken every step I can do to follow the law, so if they're gonna
arrest me here I am," he said.

Anyone who wants to buy marijuana from the store must fill out a long
application to get a medical marijuana user-identification card issued
by the shop.

They must complete a form, get a doctor's signature, authorize the
release of their medical information, have a photo ID, proof of
residence and pay a $25 fee.The shop will verify the information
before allowing a purchase, Fortt said.

Fortt said that despite the threat of law enforcement shutting down
his shop, he doesn't want to stop.

"I've gotta wake up and look myself in the face. And I'm not going to
be silent about it. I'm not going to live in fear of my life," he said.

Law enforcement officials say they want to follow the law. But when
they believe someone's skirting the edges, they'll make an arrest.

At least a few Kern County juries haven't agreed in recent cases.

In the last few months, jurors have acquitted at least two defendants
on marijuana charges. Those defendants had doctor recommendations.

Public defender Mark Arnold said the law is clear, but enforcement varies.

"The law speaks for itself and the law should not have any particular
application in one geographical area and have a different application
in another area," Arnold said. "None of us in law enforcement can pick
and choose what laws we like."

Kern County Sheriff Mack Wimbish said he doesn't agree with the law,
but he has to abide by it.

He also didn't think Kern was in need of a cannabis dispensary.

"But again, I will follow the law," he said.

Wimbish pointed out that the law has been subject to a number of
challenges in higher courts. And federal law still prohibits marijuana.

For now, he said, suspected medical marijuana cases are handled
individually.

Fortt said he has submitted a proposal asking the Board of Supervisors
to pass a resolution to create a medical card identification program
in Kern and create local guidelines on the issue. But supervisors
haven't responded to his requests, he said.

He also wants to contract with the county so he can grow marijuana for
those who sign up for the program.

"People are sick and need help. Our county is an agricultural county,"
he said. "Instead of diverting money outside the county, we should be
diverting money to the community."

Dr. Claudia Jonah, assistant public health officer for Kern County
Department of Public Health, said that before the agency can issue
cards, the state health department must set guidelines.

Then the department can issue identification cards, which can be
checked for authentication by law enforcement.

Hallye Jordan, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office,
agreed that the lines on the issue are fuzzy. The 1996 law left some
guidelines up to individual communities.

But the bill that mandates a state ID system may help protect those
who use marijuana for medical purposes. The federal law issue is still
to be hashed out in court.

That leaves much of the decision-making up to police.

"Law enforcement is always going to have to make the determination of,
is the patient a valid patient or a drug smuggler who is using
Proposition 215 as a guise to escape liability," she said.

Fortt said local guidelines could help Kern get a handle on the
situation.

"We can identify what these disagreements are so we can have an
understanding," Fortt said.

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POT 'CLUB' HAD POLICE OK, COURT TOLD

For years Ted Smith has sold medical marijuana to sick people with the
full knowledge - and even advice - of Victoria police, provincial
court heard Wednesday.

"The police department had been aware of our operation for years,"
Smith testified. "We've had police officers actually refer people to
our club."

Smith, 34, and Colby Budda, 30, are on trial for possession for the
purpose of trafficking.

The charges stem from a Jan. 3, 2002, police search of a downtown
storefront operation, then known as Ted's Books, on Johnson Street.

It was where Smith operated what he testified is commonly known as a
"compassion club," selling marijuana to people with chronic illnesses.

Testifying in his own defence, Smith told provincial court Judge
Loretta Chaperon he began in 1995 to personally distribute marijuana
for use as medicine to people suffering from illnesses such as AIDS
and cancer.

Smith said he sees distribution of the controlled substance to sick
people as a civic duty. "I grew up with the idea that we have, as a
society and as individuals, a requirement to protect the most
vulnerable people in our society."

He has always been a vocal and public advocate for medical marijuana,
speaking at City Hall, holding press conferences.

But in 2001, Smith said a police officer told him that police were
aware of his operation and advised him to operate it more openly, from
a storefront. The store opened on March 20, 2001.

Smith testified that for people to buy marijuana from the club they
must show photo ID and some proof of chronic illness. The club has a
membership list of more than 800 people.

Smith said the marijuana is always sold according to what it costs the
club. The club has barely covered its costs and has been a
money-losing operation recently.

Smith said police left the operation alone except for a few occasions,
like one in September 2001 when officers told him to burn more incense
to hide the smell.

But on Jan. 3, 2002, a beat patrol officer entered the store and spied
someone rolling a marijuana cigarette.

Const. Ryan O'Neil testified he had been working for six months as a
beat officer and

hadn't heard of the club's existence. But on the day of the search, a
man approached him and told him what was going on in the store. O'Neil
said the man was angry and wanted to come along and watch police take
it down.

When O'Neil entered the store, one of the people inside was rolling
the cigarette.

O'Neil said he asked Smith if he would consent to a search and Smith
agreed. Items found included 646 grams of marijuana and about a
kilogram of cookies which laboratory analysis revealed contained marijuana.

O'Neil said Smith was entirely co-operative and even helped show him
around.



The trial continues at a later date.