Save Mother Earth

According to an article in today's North County Times, Mother Earth Alternative Healing Cooperative is no more.

Fallbrook's sole medical marijuana cooperative was apparently the victim of county code enforcement, who accused them of operating without a permit. And, shudder, building an interior wall without a permit.

They were gunning for them. I guess it was just a matter of time. God forbid that one store in this town was doing any business!

The cooperative, of which I am a member, had always been open about its operating intentions with the county of San Diego. But code enforcement says that pot dispensaries are not legally permittable because their use is not mentioned in county codes as currently written. Even though the permit was applied for before any moratoriums were written.

Mother Earth was a member in good standing of the local Fallbrook Camber of Commerce. They had a float in the Christmas Parade. The local sheriff admits that they had no link to any rise in crimes. But he is glad to see them gone.


San Diego sheriff's Lt. Phil Brust, who runs the Fallbrook station, said there had been no increase in crime related to the shop since it opened, and he said Riedel had come into the station to share his plans and invite deputies to tour the place.
Still, Brust said, the shop "raised his eyebrows" and he was glad to see it shut down.
"I am leery of these establishments, even if their motives are good," Brust said. "I think people (some medical marijuana users) are getting carried away and it has become a free-for-all."


What the good sheriff and the county continue to fail to grasp is that medical marijuana is the law in California and has been since the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. It is a matter between a patient and a doctor and believe it or not, the law is scrupulously adhered to by the clinics I have visited. The County of San Diego has lost on this issue at the United States Supreme Court not once but twice. Oh ya, why was I there anyway? I lost a kidney and ureter and a piece of bladder to cancer in May of last year. Marijuana kept me off of narcotics and helped me to recover.

The Federal government has stated that they will respect state laws in respect to medical marijuana, which currently exist in 14 states. Yet the will and plurality of the people apparently means nothing to our tin horn Board of Supervisors and our vengeful District Attorney, Bonnie Dumanis.

Of what purpose are propositions if they can so easily be thwarted by elected officials who choose to so selectively follow their edicts?  Guess sick people can't get their medicine if we refuse to permit any dispensaries.  The county is even taking the position that any sale of marijuana is illegal even though the two pot propositions clearly state that reasonable fees can be charged to recover costs.

I for one, hope that someone with deep pockets will file a massive lawsuit to hold the county's feet to the fire until they adopt a reasonable policy and start permitting medical marijuana dispensaries. Or better yet start taking names and throw the scallywags out of office.