Okay...so, the petition drive was successful and the City Council has withdrawn the ban-by-zoning ordinance. Now what?
Most Prop215 advocates are viewing this as a victory of sorts, although it puts us back in the position where unclear and often contradictory regulations exist and enforcement activities can continue to be seemingly random and unfocused. My expectation is that the City Council will simply do virtually the same thing again...with minor changes. I don't see anything to prevent them from singing the same song again...in a different key. Here's why...
The Federal government appears adamant on reclassifying Cannabis as a controlled substance. Despite years of legitimate attempts to review this baseless characterization, it seems that the pharmaceutical lobby will win out, yet again.
Secondly, it doesn't appear that any changes being proposed in California will eliminate the District Attorney's ability to bring cases against Coop/Dispensaries even when they exceed the organizational and compliance requirements of the existing legislation... Terrie Best, writing for the ASA website, quoted Mr. Wuerfel of the Redwood legal group regarding the ongoing case against patient Dexter Padilla. Wuerfel put it most succintly in saying, "The process is the punishment", recognizing that the time, effort and money spent in fighting off a criminal case is a successful form of prohibition-by-enforcement--even when the defendants are ultimately exonerated. Plants pulled out by the roots are a total loss and no method of compensation to defendants for overstepping enforcement exists.
Even when judges rebuke enforcement agencies or city council regulations in open court, the harassment continues. Oceanside's NCC is reopened, with a solid ruling from the Judge disallowing the closure. However, the city attorney for O'side continues to threaten a per-day fine for failing to comply with registration requirements THAT THE CITY HASN'T BOTHERED TO CREATE. At the next election, remember how the O'side City Council ignores the spirit of our voter-passed referendum...Sic Semper Tyrannis.
I'm not optimistic in this environment about the prospects my clients face regarding ongoing harassment and enforcement actions. That said, it is better to have all the 'eyes' dotted and tees crossed if you elect to venture into this environment.
