Rancher Robert Allen appears before the board of supervisors on Nov. 3 to express his wish to sell medicinal marijuana. Photo by: Scott Thomas Anderson

Confusion about the present. Uncertainty about the future.

Some of Amador's top officials found themselves trying to navigate a swamp of mixed messages and legal questions on Tuesday as a member of one of the biggest land-owning families in the county asked them to lift a ban on growing and selling medicinal marijuana.

In late October, Sutter Creek rancher Robert Allen told the Ledger Dispatch he proposed to open a cannabis dispensary for locals struggling with health issues. Allen's family owns vast tracts of land throughout the area. Despite his property holdings, Allen said he was having trouble finding a location to start the enterprise - which he calls Gold Country Harvest - mostly because Amador County has a ban on such operations.

On Tuesday, Allen made a public pitch to the Amador County Board of Supervisors to lift the ban so Amador would be aligned with California's Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act.

"By having a moratorium, Amador County is at the risk of having it declared invalid," Allen told the supervisors. "This could result in someone opening any kind of dispensary they want, in inappropriate places, and ultimately contribute to a wild west atmosphere."

Allen went on to read a statement about how marijuana had transformed his sick mother from being bed-ridden and near-death to a happy and active woman who lived two years longer than her doctors expected. Janet Allen died in February 2008. Her son characterized the request to lift the ban as an issue of "compassion." Allen ended his remarks by saying that, while there's a perception that California state law clashes with United States federal law on the sale of medicinal marijuana, President Obama has signaled that the federal law will no longer be enforced.

That contention drew a quick response from Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe. "With all due respect, Mr. Allen is wrong," Riebe told the board. "It's still against federal law."

Riebe went on to explain that the California Court of Appeals also made it clear that only a designated primary caregiver can provide medicinal marijuana to a suffering patient under Proposition 215. In the case of People v. Hochanadel, the court said that cannabis dispensaries such as the type Allen wants to open in Amador didn't qualify as primary caregivers. The California Supreme Court has ruled that only a person who consistently integrates his or herself into a suffering patient's health, housing and safety can be deemed a primary caregiver. The court also ruled that marijuana cooperatives or "collectives" did not qualify.

Riebe closed his presentation by returning to the issue of federal law. He argued that it was the U.S. Supreme Court that had the final say about what was legal and that indeed the top court in the land had already decided the matter in Gonzales v. Raich. In that case, it was ruled that initiatives such as Proposition 215 could not change the fact that selling medicinal marijuana was a federal crime.

"I'm not suggesting that some people can't get medical benefits from these types of treatments," Riebe admitted. "But despite President Obama turning his head, if these dispensaries are in violation of Proposition 215 as well as federal law, then I think we're on treacherous ground."

The debate drew varied responses from the supervisors. Louis Boitano and Brian Oneto both conceded they saw possible benefits to medical marijuana use. "I'm sure it can be a good treatment for some desperate people," Boitano said. "I'm not wild about having it in the county; but maybe we could pass something that says it's alright to have it inside our cities."

Supervisor Ted Novelli wondered out loud if President Obama and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency were on the same page. He also worried about what message the county would be sending if the ban was lifted, asking, "We're going to support something like ACCNET (Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team) and then also support this?"

Supervisor Richard Forster expressed concerns about the illegal abuses that can go along with allowing medicinal marijuana dispensaries. "I've personally known people who have been incarcerated for selling," he said. "And these were cases where they got their marijuana legally for medical needs and then turned around and sold it."

Reading over Allen's statement, Oneto noticed that the rancher had been inspired to get involved with medical cannabis by Dr. Mollie Fry. "If lifting the moratorium is something we end up wanting to explore, then maybe we can get some information from this Dr. Fry," Oneto suggested.

Riebe stood up and responded, "If you want to talk to Dr. Fry about it, then you'll probably have to do so from the other side of a jail cell, since she's been arrested by the feds for violating the law."

Speaking in support of Allen during public comments was Ethan Turner, a farmer from Amador City. Turner called the situation between state government, the federal government and the president a "legal quagmire," but observed that there was new legislation on the horizon that could potentially legalize marijuana throughout California.

"This whole issue clearly needs more legal definition from the state," Turner said. "But I think it would be to the county's benefit to put into effect some kind of framework that would control how this happens, if it's unavoidable."

On that point, Forster appeared to agree. "I do think we need to be prepared in case the president changes the law," he said.

The supervisors directed staff to prepare feedback on the issue of lifting the ban only after a meeting had been held between the county administrative officer, the county sheriff, Riebe, the Social Services Department and the health department. The supervisors will re-examine the issue in a future meeting and allow the public to get involved and comment.