Solano puts off decision to keep medical marijuana dispensaries out

Prospective operators of medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Solano County will have to wait until Aug. 7 to argue against a proposal to extend a ban on the facilities for another year.

The Board of Supervisors postponed a hearing on the proposal to that date, according to The Reporter newspaper in Vacaville.

The board meets that day, beginning at 8 a.m., at the Solano County Government Center at 675 Texas St. in Fairfield.

Dozens of medical marijuana facilities opened in Solano County cities after the passage of Proposition 215 by California voters in 1996, but most have gone underground since the federal government enlisted local police departments to launch a crackdown on the clinics.

None of Solano's seven cities have expressly permitted the facilities to open.

Marijuana possession is illegal under federal law, even though Prop. 215 changed California law to permit possession and cultivation with medical certification.

The conflict between federal and state law is currently being considered by the courts.

In Vallejo, Solano County's largest city, numerous medical marijuana clinics have been raided, and their property seized and operators arrested.

Solano's seven cities are not subject to the Board of Supervisors moratorium, which applies only to unincorporated communities such as Cordelia and Green Valley.

District 3 Supervisor Jim Spering of Suisun City told the newspaper that the board declined to act at its last meeting because District 2 Supervisor Linda Seifert of Green Valley was unable to attend.