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Lawrence Pebbles, owner of Novato marijuana dispensary the Green Door Wellness Center, is asking the city to support more than 1,900 local patients by allowing them safe access to medical marijuana.
While medical-marijuana dispensaries have been forced out of California cities at an alarming rate, Pebbles has been outspoken on recent federal busts and remains open for his Novato client base.
Federal authorities have targeted California's pot dispensaries since October, two years after the Obama administration said it would not take an aggressive stance against the 15 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have laws allowing medical marijuana. Federal prosecutors filed actions April 23 to seize the Green Door and its neighboring dispensary the Green Tiger Collective, located on Redwood Boulevard, threatening prosecution for violating federal law against marijuana distribution. The Green Tiger closed April 24.
"We're going to beg for the council's support," Pebbles said. "We want the city to unite with us and ask the federal government to allow local laws regarding patient access to be left alone."
Pebbles addressed the Novato City Council May 8 but was unable to finish his speech due to a three-minute time limit for public comments.
"I write this letter as a citizen of Novato with the intention of moving forward towards an agreement with the city of Novato and the Green Door," Pebbles wrote to the council.
The Green Door received a cease-and-desist order last November from the building's landlord, David Cesena. After going to trial, Pebbles won the case, said Jeffrey Moss, Pebbles' attorney.
After settling the legal dispute, Novato City Attorney Jeffrey Walter asked Pebbles to send the city a proposal to continue operating, said Moss.
"The city attorney contacted us and said the city had decided to let [Pebbles] stay under certain conditions," Moss said. Walter then asked Pebbles to draft a document.
Communication between Green Door and the city subsequently stopped.
"We have spent considerable time and expense drafting a workable document," Pebbles said. "Not responding to the requested proposal seemed a bit odd for our city leaders."
In September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1300, which allowed city governments to regulate local dispensaries. In November the Novato City Council extended a moratorium limiting new dispensaries. The Green Door agreed to pay a 1.75 percent fee for continued operation, which could result in up to $50,000 annually to benefit the city of Novato.
"Such an amount would certainly benefit a city that needs to do private fundraising to acquire or maintain police dogs or has any number of other expenses that it cannot fill," Pebbles said. "Such an arrangement would have been a win-win for the city and its citizens, both those that are our patients and those that pay taxes.
"Why won't [the city] take the $50,000 when it's running a $4 million a year deficit? That's insane."
Pebbles has acquired additional legal aid since the federal government's crackdown, he said.
"We barely get by because of attorney fees," Pebbles said of the $550 an hour he pays his federal defense lawyer.
Either way, he intends to keep fighting for patient care, he said.
"Lawrence is really concerned about the patients the dispensary serves and what they'll have to do if it's shut down," Moss said. "He doesn't want them to have to buy it off the street. Lawrence is the only thing keeping it open – at his own personal risk."
"This is not about marijuana; it's about safe access to medicine," Pebbles said.
Pebbles plans on speaking at the May 22 Novato City Council meeting as well, to ask city leaders what their position is on safe access to medical marijuana in Novato.
"Let the society hear [the council's] voice on this issue," Pebbles said.
Pebbles is willing to allow the Novato Police Department to monitor ongoing business inside the dispensary by setting up video cameras at his expense. He is also willing to allow the city to select a bookkeeper to monitor the dispensary's cash flow. "We want nothing less than transparency," he said.
"Certain politicians are not happy with the way some dispensaries are run," Pebbles said. "Those dispensaries cast a shadow over all of us."
The Green Door does not grow marijuana in-house. Pebbles buys from legal vendors. The dispensary is also a members-only, nonprofit facility, which is licensed by the state of California.
"It's just like a pharmacy. We do patient consultations and I will buy products that patients request," Pebbles said. "We also only allow patients to buy marijuana once a day."
Pebbles lost two employees in April due to threats by the federal government and a lack of support from local government.
"Two people left because they felt that their personal safety and freedom were in jeopardy. It's a tragedy." Pebbles said. "I hope I don't stay a second too long and end up in handcuffs."
Pebbles grew up in Novato and decided to open a medical marijuana dispensary after caring for his dying grandmother.
"My grandmother never smoked cannabis before. She was in her early 90s and lost her taste and appetite," Pebbles said. "She suffered from severe nausea and was on strong narcotics."
Pebbles got a caregiver's card, which allowed him to purchase medical marijuana for her, and began making marijuana cookies.
"She would take a quarter or half of a cookie when she needed and began to eat. That's the moment I knew that medicinal cannabis works," Pebbles said. "She was my hero."
Today Pebbles is hoping the city will respond to his pleas. If the council refuses to respond, many will be forced to buy marijuana on the streets, he said.
"I really want to plead for them to embrace us," Pebbles said. "I want to sway the city into uniting with us against the federal government's interference and to allow our local citizens to determine the course of conduct in our community allowed by state law."
The federal government's crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries began in October and was led by four regional U.S. attorneys in California. The prosecutors said they planned to target large-scale commercial enterprises that operate under the guise of providing medical marijuana, and they would begin by concentrating on dispensaries near schools and parks.
California's Compassionate Use Act, approved by state voters in 1996, allows seriously ill patients to use marijuana with a doctor's permission, but federal laws criminalizing the drug make no exception for state medical marijuana laws.
Joseph Henderson, vice president of public affairs with the Friends of Marin Holistic Solutions, a Corte Madera cannabis club, is an advocate for strict dispensary guidelines, as opposed to simply banning dispensaries or, at the other extreme, allowing unlimited access to medical marijuana. "There should be very clear and enforceable regulations. If someone deviates from that – game over," he said.
Henderson has seen more business after the 2011 closures of other Marin dispensaries, including the long-standing Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax, a Kentfield dispensary and the Marin Wellness Center.
In March 2011 two Sausalito medical marijuana dispensaries operating illegally under a citywide ban were evicted from their Gate 5 Road locations by the property's landlord.
The San Rafael dispensary Tree of Life closed in 2010 after a county investigation into the operation.
"You're fighting the biggest gang on the plant, which is the federal government of the United States," Pebbles said.
News Hawk- Astonr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: marinscope.com
Author: Nicole Baptista
Contact: Marinscope Newspapers > Our Newspaper > Contact Us
Website: Marinscope Newspapers > Archives > Novato Advance > News > Green Door stays open
While medical-marijuana dispensaries have been forced out of California cities at an alarming rate, Pebbles has been outspoken on recent federal busts and remains open for his Novato client base.
Federal authorities have targeted California's pot dispensaries since October, two years after the Obama administration said it would not take an aggressive stance against the 15 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have laws allowing medical marijuana. Federal prosecutors filed actions April 23 to seize the Green Door and its neighboring dispensary the Green Tiger Collective, located on Redwood Boulevard, threatening prosecution for violating federal law against marijuana distribution. The Green Tiger closed April 24.
"We're going to beg for the council's support," Pebbles said. "We want the city to unite with us and ask the federal government to allow local laws regarding patient access to be left alone."
Pebbles addressed the Novato City Council May 8 but was unable to finish his speech due to a three-minute time limit for public comments.
"I write this letter as a citizen of Novato with the intention of moving forward towards an agreement with the city of Novato and the Green Door," Pebbles wrote to the council.
The Green Door received a cease-and-desist order last November from the building's landlord, David Cesena. After going to trial, Pebbles won the case, said Jeffrey Moss, Pebbles' attorney.
After settling the legal dispute, Novato City Attorney Jeffrey Walter asked Pebbles to send the city a proposal to continue operating, said Moss.
"The city attorney contacted us and said the city had decided to let [Pebbles] stay under certain conditions," Moss said. Walter then asked Pebbles to draft a document.
Communication between Green Door and the city subsequently stopped.
"We have spent considerable time and expense drafting a workable document," Pebbles said. "Not responding to the requested proposal seemed a bit odd for our city leaders."
In September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1300, which allowed city governments to regulate local dispensaries. In November the Novato City Council extended a moratorium limiting new dispensaries. The Green Door agreed to pay a 1.75 percent fee for continued operation, which could result in up to $50,000 annually to benefit the city of Novato.
"Such an amount would certainly benefit a city that needs to do private fundraising to acquire or maintain police dogs or has any number of other expenses that it cannot fill," Pebbles said. "Such an arrangement would have been a win-win for the city and its citizens, both those that are our patients and those that pay taxes.
"Why won't [the city] take the $50,000 when it's running a $4 million a year deficit? That's insane."
Pebbles has acquired additional legal aid since the federal government's crackdown, he said.
"We barely get by because of attorney fees," Pebbles said of the $550 an hour he pays his federal defense lawyer.
Either way, he intends to keep fighting for patient care, he said.
"Lawrence is really concerned about the patients the dispensary serves and what they'll have to do if it's shut down," Moss said. "He doesn't want them to have to buy it off the street. Lawrence is the only thing keeping it open – at his own personal risk."
"This is not about marijuana; it's about safe access to medicine," Pebbles said.
Pebbles plans on speaking at the May 22 Novato City Council meeting as well, to ask city leaders what their position is on safe access to medical marijuana in Novato.
"Let the society hear [the council's] voice on this issue," Pebbles said.
Pebbles is willing to allow the Novato Police Department to monitor ongoing business inside the dispensary by setting up video cameras at his expense. He is also willing to allow the city to select a bookkeeper to monitor the dispensary's cash flow. "We want nothing less than transparency," he said.
"Certain politicians are not happy with the way some dispensaries are run," Pebbles said. "Those dispensaries cast a shadow over all of us."
The Green Door does not grow marijuana in-house. Pebbles buys from legal vendors. The dispensary is also a members-only, nonprofit facility, which is licensed by the state of California.
"It's just like a pharmacy. We do patient consultations and I will buy products that patients request," Pebbles said. "We also only allow patients to buy marijuana once a day."
Pebbles lost two employees in April due to threats by the federal government and a lack of support from local government.
"Two people left because they felt that their personal safety and freedom were in jeopardy. It's a tragedy." Pebbles said. "I hope I don't stay a second too long and end up in handcuffs."
Pebbles grew up in Novato and decided to open a medical marijuana dispensary after caring for his dying grandmother.
"My grandmother never smoked cannabis before. She was in her early 90s and lost her taste and appetite," Pebbles said. "She suffered from severe nausea and was on strong narcotics."
Pebbles got a caregiver's card, which allowed him to purchase medical marijuana for her, and began making marijuana cookies.
"She would take a quarter or half of a cookie when she needed and began to eat. That's the moment I knew that medicinal cannabis works," Pebbles said. "She was my hero."
Today Pebbles is hoping the city will respond to his pleas. If the council refuses to respond, many will be forced to buy marijuana on the streets, he said.
"I really want to plead for them to embrace us," Pebbles said. "I want to sway the city into uniting with us against the federal government's interference and to allow our local citizens to determine the course of conduct in our community allowed by state law."
The federal government's crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries began in October and was led by four regional U.S. attorneys in California. The prosecutors said they planned to target large-scale commercial enterprises that operate under the guise of providing medical marijuana, and they would begin by concentrating on dispensaries near schools and parks.
California's Compassionate Use Act, approved by state voters in 1996, allows seriously ill patients to use marijuana with a doctor's permission, but federal laws criminalizing the drug make no exception for state medical marijuana laws.
Joseph Henderson, vice president of public affairs with the Friends of Marin Holistic Solutions, a Corte Madera cannabis club, is an advocate for strict dispensary guidelines, as opposed to simply banning dispensaries or, at the other extreme, allowing unlimited access to medical marijuana. "There should be very clear and enforceable regulations. If someone deviates from that – game over," he said.
Henderson has seen more business after the 2011 closures of other Marin dispensaries, including the long-standing Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax, a Kentfield dispensary and the Marin Wellness Center.
In March 2011 two Sausalito medical marijuana dispensaries operating illegally under a citywide ban were evicted from their Gate 5 Road locations by the property's landlord.
The San Rafael dispensary Tree of Life closed in 2010 after a county investigation into the operation.
"You're fighting the biggest gang on the plant, which is the federal government of the United States," Pebbles said.
News Hawk- Astonr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: marinscope.com
Author: Nicole Baptista
Contact: Marinscope Newspapers > Our Newspaper > Contact Us
Website: Marinscope Newspapers > Archives > Novato Advance > News > Green Door stays open
