Alameda Revokes Medical Marijuana Dispensary's License

[User]

The city of Alameda has issued an order revoking the Purple Elephant medical marijuana dispensary's business license. But the dispensary has appealed the decision and remains open.

A date for the appeal, which will be heard by the city manager, the mayor and the city's finance director, has not yet been set. If the dispensary's owner were to lose that appeal, he could appeal directly to the City Council.

Ann Marie Gallant, the city's interim finance director and the person responsible for making the decision, said in a letter to the dispensary's owner that he failed to disclose the true nature of his business on his license application as required by city codes. She also said he failed to get the required zoning clearance for the dispensary from the city's Planning and Building Department.

"The business license application you submitted did not set forth the true and complete facts, and therefore the document you received purporting to be a business license is invalid," Gallant wrote.

Gallant said Luke Coleman's listing of his business as "miscellaneous retail" on his license application was untruthful.

"The phrase 'miscellaneous retail' suggests that a variety of lawful, noncontroversial items will be sold. In contrast, the sale of marijuana -- for any reason, medical or otherwise - is a federal crime," she wrote.

The dispensary's owner, Coleman, did not return a call seeking comment. But his attorney, Ed Higginbotham, said his client has done nothing wrong.

"We deny that we have done any wrong, lied to anybody, deceived anybody, or done anything illegal or immoral," Higginbotham said.

Higginbotham accused the city of denying his client due process rights, because city employees asked for the revocation, held the hearing and were responsible for the decision.

Gallant's letter said he argued that the city has no law that specifically applies to medical marijuana dispensaries, allowing him to list his business as "miscellaneous retail." The letter said he argued that the state created the label "to avoid arousing suspicion under federal law" and that he was advised by his attorney to use it.

According to the letter, Coleman claimed he told business and planning staff verbally that he planned to open a marijuana dispensary, which Gallant dismissed as not credible.

Higginbotham said he did not wish to comment on the contents of the letter. But he contended the Purple Elephant is the best-run dispensary in the Bay Area and that it provides the city badly needed tax revenue.

Coleman's business license for the Webster Street dispensary was issued on July 11, 2008.

The City Council adopted a moratorium on additional dispensaries so it can create rules governing how, or if, they can set up shop on the Island. An ordinance is not due to be completed until June 2010.


News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: Alameda Times-Star, The (CA)
Copyright: 2009 ANG Newspapers
Contact: Oakland Tribune - Write a Letter - Inside Bay Area
Website: Home - Inside Bay Area
Author: Michele Ellson

[Bonehead]

It is not the responsiblity of state, county, or city municipalities to enforce federal laws. Alameda needs to stop acting like the Feds and start acting like a city that is concerned about all of its citizens.