Marijuana ban extended



10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 2, 2006



By MELANIE C. JOHNSON
The Press-Enterprise



CORONA - Hoping to keep medical-marijuana dispensaries from cropping up
around town, the Corona City Council on Wednesday night voted 4-0 to extend its
ban on them until June 2007.



Councilman Jeff Miller was absent.



The council and city staff have cited conflicting state and federal laws
regarding medical marijuana and called for more time to research what to do.



Supporters of medical marijuana and the lone dispensary in the city,
Healing Nations Collective, feel the council is using the conflicting laws as a
smoke screen and called for the city to move forward on enacting regulations.



Mayor Karen Spiegel told the crowd that the vote was not on whether to
ban or regulate at this time.



"We're not voting on anything except for extending the ordinance," she
said.



However, about a dozen proponents and medical-marijuana patients pushed
the council to draft an ordinance regulating dispensaries, create a task force
to involve patients, advocates and residents, and keep Healing Nations open.



Corona resident Cody Donnelly, a medical-marijuana patient, wheeled her
way to the front of the council chambers in her motorized wheelchair and placed
several pill bottles on the podium.



Donnelly, who suffered a broken neck and back, said the pills she takes
cause debilitating side effects, while marijuana eases her pain and allows her
to function better.



"Please leave us alone," she said. "You'll never see a bunch of
acid-dropping hippies running through your town. It's not that kind of program."



The city passed a 45-day ban in response to the opening of Healing
Nations in May. Corona's staff and city attorney have said the dispensary is not
an approved use under city code and is therefore operating illegally.



However, the collective's founder, Ronald Naulls, said he has gone
through legal channels, filing for a business license with the state and paying
taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. He has said he would sue if the city
tries to shut the collective down.



Prop. 215, which voters approved in 1996, legalized the use of marijuana
for medical purposes only. However, it is not allowed for any use under federal
law.



Naulls said cities are bound to follow state law and regulating
dispensaries or collectives keeps the federal government from stepping in.



Reach Melanie C. Johnson at 951-893-2113 or mjohnson@...



http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories/PE_News_Local_C_cpot03.295fa77.html



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