As Riverside tries to shut one medical marijuana dispensary within city limits, another is seeking to open with the city's approval.
But city officials said they don't intend to allow the Greenhouse Care Group, a collective of about 25 Riverside patients, to run a dispensary on the east side.
The group has taken a unique tack. The city has said its zoning code forbids any marijuana dispensaries, so Greenhouse Care Group applied to change the code, said Katherine Clifton, a San Diego attorney representing the not-for-profit group.
Riverside is dealing with two dispensary issues. A collective wants a zone code change to open, while the city is trying to shut down a dispensary that opened in December. Above, a Bakersfield man leaves the THCF Medical Clinic in 2009.
"This is a big community and a lot of people are not getting the help they need," Clifton said in an interview last week.
Paperwork provided by Clifton shows the group asked that dispensaries be permitted in business and manufacturing zones.
The group has already leased a space in a business park on Old 215 Frontage Road, north of March Air Reserve Base. Clifton said it will have security cameras and a guard, and it will offer members meditation, yoga and pain management classes. The collective's members are mainly elderly or disabled, she said.
While Clifton said the group is trying to work with the city so it can legally open its dispensary, Riverside officials don't seem likely to go along.
Another facility, the Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center, in December opened a collective that provides medical marijuana to its members. Center officials maintain their right to operate is supported by state law, but the city continues to disagree and in May sought a court injunction to shut the center's doors. The case is still pending.
City Attorney Greg Priamos said Greenhouse Care Group's application for a zoning change to allow medical marijuana dispensaries is the only such request he's aware of. In April, the city returned Clifton's application and informed her it would not be processed, he said.
Because federal law prohibits marijuana use and state law forbids the city from adopting rules at odds with federal law, Priamos said, "We don't believe we have the legal authority to amend our zoning code to permit dispensaries."
But Clifton said last week she is still hoping for a discussion on the issue in Riverside.
"We could have opened based on state law, but I don't want the threat of a raid hanging over anyone's head," she said. "This path takes longer and it's more complex, but if it can lead to a public hearing I'm all for it."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Press-Enterprise
Author: ALICIA ROBINSON
Copyright: 2010 Press-Enterprise Company
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
But city officials said they don't intend to allow the Greenhouse Care Group, a collective of about 25 Riverside patients, to run a dispensary on the east side.
The group has taken a unique tack. The city has said its zoning code forbids any marijuana dispensaries, so Greenhouse Care Group applied to change the code, said Katherine Clifton, a San Diego attorney representing the not-for-profit group.
Riverside is dealing with two dispensary issues. A collective wants a zone code change to open, while the city is trying to shut down a dispensary that opened in December. Above, a Bakersfield man leaves the THCF Medical Clinic in 2009.
"This is a big community and a lot of people are not getting the help they need," Clifton said in an interview last week.
Paperwork provided by Clifton shows the group asked that dispensaries be permitted in business and manufacturing zones.
The group has already leased a space in a business park on Old 215 Frontage Road, north of March Air Reserve Base. Clifton said it will have security cameras and a guard, and it will offer members meditation, yoga and pain management classes. The collective's members are mainly elderly or disabled, she said.
While Clifton said the group is trying to work with the city so it can legally open its dispensary, Riverside officials don't seem likely to go along.
Another facility, the Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center, in December opened a collective that provides medical marijuana to its members. Center officials maintain their right to operate is supported by state law, but the city continues to disagree and in May sought a court injunction to shut the center's doors. The case is still pending.
City Attorney Greg Priamos said Greenhouse Care Group's application for a zoning change to allow medical marijuana dispensaries is the only such request he's aware of. In April, the city returned Clifton's application and informed her it would not be processed, he said.
Because federal law prohibits marijuana use and state law forbids the city from adopting rules at odds with federal law, Priamos said, "We don't believe we have the legal authority to amend our zoning code to permit dispensaries."
But Clifton said last week she is still hoping for a discussion on the issue in Riverside.
"We could have opened based on state law, but I don't want the threat of a raid hanging over anyone's head," she said. "This path takes longer and it's more complex, but if it can lead to a public hearing I'm all for it."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Press-Enterprise
Author: ALICIA ROBINSON
Copyright: 2010 Press-Enterprise Company
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
