Jacob Bell
New Member
Fresno County sheriff's deputies this afternoon went to Centerville to shut down a medical marijuana dispensary that Sheriff Margaret Mims said was operating illegally.
The dispensary, called Herbal Solutions, is in a historic building that once housed an Independent Order of Foresters lodge.
Mims said the woman who operates the dispensary would face state charges because Herbal Solutions was opened after Fresno County's Board of Supervisor enacted a moratorium last summer against any new medical-marijuana stores. The owner also could face federal charges because the dispensary is within 1,000 feet of a school -- Centerville Elementary.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors approved strict rules clamping down on the medicinal marijuana trade. Under the ordinance, dispensaries must close by March and cultivation is banned in all but some industrial parts of the county.
The new ordinance seeks to curtail what has become a flourishing and some would say problematic trade of medicinal pot across the county. Medical marijuana advocates have vowed to challenge it in court.
Authorities seized all of the marijuana products in the building and also went to the Sanger home of the dispensary owner and confiscated marijuana there.
Mims said the dispensary was in violation of state law because marijuana was sold to people who are not the primary caregiver for someone who has a medical marijuana card -- a requirement under Proposition 15.
Fresno attorney Rick Horowitz, a supporter of medical pot, said he wouldn't be surprised if the sheriff's actions constituted "an illegal raid." Horowitz, who does not represent the Centerville dispensary, said the object was probably to confiscate the property and harass the operators. He said he doubted the operators would face criminal charges.
"It's just like in the old days, when the sheriff would say, "I'm gonna run you out of town,'" he said.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: fresnobee.com
Author: Jim Guy
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: The Fresno Bee
Website: Deputies close Centerville med marijuana store
The dispensary, called Herbal Solutions, is in a historic building that once housed an Independent Order of Foresters lodge.
Mims said the woman who operates the dispensary would face state charges because Herbal Solutions was opened after Fresno County's Board of Supervisor enacted a moratorium last summer against any new medical-marijuana stores. The owner also could face federal charges because the dispensary is within 1,000 feet of a school -- Centerville Elementary.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors approved strict rules clamping down on the medicinal marijuana trade. Under the ordinance, dispensaries must close by March and cultivation is banned in all but some industrial parts of the county.
The new ordinance seeks to curtail what has become a flourishing and some would say problematic trade of medicinal pot across the county. Medical marijuana advocates have vowed to challenge it in court.
Authorities seized all of the marijuana products in the building and also went to the Sanger home of the dispensary owner and confiscated marijuana there.
Mims said the dispensary was in violation of state law because marijuana was sold to people who are not the primary caregiver for someone who has a medical marijuana card -- a requirement under Proposition 15.
Fresno attorney Rick Horowitz, a supporter of medical pot, said he wouldn't be surprised if the sheriff's actions constituted "an illegal raid." Horowitz, who does not represent the Centerville dispensary, said the object was probably to confiscate the property and harass the operators. He said he doubted the operators would face criminal charges.
"It's just like in the old days, when the sheriff would say, "I'm gonna run you out of town,'" he said.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: fresnobee.com
Author: Jim Guy
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: The Fresno Bee
Website: Deputies close Centerville med marijuana store
