Buddy's Cannabis Patient Collective will stay open in Mountain View – at least for a couple more days.
Though Mountain View officials sought a preliminary injunction to shut down the medical marijuana dispensary on Bayshore Parkway that opened in April despite a city ban, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Joseph Huber said after a hearing Wednesday he would review the request.
Huber said he is concerned about the difference between a permanent injunction and the requested preliminary injunction, which would shut down Buddy's immediately while lawsuits between the dispensary and city are resolved. A preliminary injunction would assume that Buddy's is causing harm.
Huber told lawyers for both sides that many of their arguments would apply better to a permanent injunction and that he plans to issue a ruling within a few days.
In the hourlong hearing in San Jose, an attorney representing the city – Thomas Brown of the law firm Hanson Bridgett – described Buddy's operation as "purely a violation of local law."
The dispensary broke four city laws when it opened, Brown said. It violated the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, conflicted with the city's zoning rules, operated without a business license and did interior construction work without proper permits.
The city has the right to regulate zoning, Brown said, and it would be "utter chaos" if business owners were allowed to open up wherever and whenever they want.
"All your honor has to be able to do is just be able to imagine that the city council and the city have a rational basis for their decision" in banning dispensaries, Brown said. "That's the constitutional standard that applies here."
Matt Kumin of KuminSommers, who is representing Buddy's, argued that the city's ban violates state and federal constitutional rights to privacy and equal protection.
"I don't have a constitutional right to chew gum," he said, "but I do have the right for the government to leave me alone."
The city's laws treat medical marijuana patients "like some lepers, like some criminals," Kumin said, and they don't meet the "rational basis" standard that Brown described.
"The city of Mountain View is terrified of medical cannabis, and they're fearful, and those fears are irrational," Kumin said.
Because of the constitutional issues involved, Kumin said, the city needs to show a "compelling interest" that its medical marijuana ban is necessary.
"This is about (a patient's) body," Kumin said, "and there can be nothing more fundamental than the authority to do things to your body, to try to fix your body."
After the hearing, Brown and City Attorney Jannie Quinn declined to comment until the judge issues a ruling.
Matt Lucero, a former corporate lawyer who opened Buddy's with his nephew, said he was encouraged by the judge's attitude and his focus on the difference between permanent and preliminary injunctions.
"He's being very deliberate and clearly understands that this is not a clear-cut case, that there are constitutional issues at stake," Lucero said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Diana Samuels
Contact: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
Website: Buddy's medical pot club in Mountain View can remain open – for now
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Though Mountain View officials sought a preliminary injunction to shut down the medical marijuana dispensary on Bayshore Parkway that opened in April despite a city ban, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Joseph Huber said after a hearing Wednesday he would review the request.
Huber said he is concerned about the difference between a permanent injunction and the requested preliminary injunction, which would shut down Buddy's immediately while lawsuits between the dispensary and city are resolved. A preliminary injunction would assume that Buddy's is causing harm.
Huber told lawyers for both sides that many of their arguments would apply better to a permanent injunction and that he plans to issue a ruling within a few days.
In the hourlong hearing in San Jose, an attorney representing the city – Thomas Brown of the law firm Hanson Bridgett – described Buddy's operation as "purely a violation of local law."
The dispensary broke four city laws when it opened, Brown said. It violated the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, conflicted with the city's zoning rules, operated without a business license and did interior construction work without proper permits.
The city has the right to regulate zoning, Brown said, and it would be "utter chaos" if business owners were allowed to open up wherever and whenever they want.
"All your honor has to be able to do is just be able to imagine that the city council and the city have a rational basis for their decision" in banning dispensaries, Brown said. "That's the constitutional standard that applies here."
Matt Kumin of KuminSommers, who is representing Buddy's, argued that the city's ban violates state and federal constitutional rights to privacy and equal protection.
"I don't have a constitutional right to chew gum," he said, "but I do have the right for the government to leave me alone."
The city's laws treat medical marijuana patients "like some lepers, like some criminals," Kumin said, and they don't meet the "rational basis" standard that Brown described.
"The city of Mountain View is terrified of medical cannabis, and they're fearful, and those fears are irrational," Kumin said.
Because of the constitutional issues involved, Kumin said, the city needs to show a "compelling interest" that its medical marijuana ban is necessary.
"This is about (a patient's) body," Kumin said, "and there can be nothing more fundamental than the authority to do things to your body, to try to fix your body."
After the hearing, Brown and City Attorney Jannie Quinn declined to comment until the judge issues a ruling.
Matt Lucero, a former corporate lawyer who opened Buddy's with his nephew, said he was encouraged by the judge's attitude and his focus on the difference between permanent and preliminary injunctions.
"He's being very deliberate and clearly understands that this is not a clear-cut case, that there are constitutional issues at stake," Lucero said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Diana Samuels
Contact: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
Website: Buddy's medical pot club in Mountain View can remain open – for now
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
