Jacob Bell
New Member
Operators of a medical-marijuana cooperative near Ivanhoe plan to appeal a Tulare County Superior Court judge's order to cease operations by noon today.
But it may take days to file the case with California's 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno, said Hanford attorney Bill Romaine, who represents Foothill Growers Association Inc.
"In the interest of preserving patients' need for medicine ... what our clients are going to do is relocate to an area that is properly zoned, according to the county ordinance," he said.
It plans to be closed by noon and open as soon as it can at another location in the county, Romaine said.
He said Thursday that he believed the cooperative had negotiated to use a new site in unincorporated Tulare County.
Foothill Growers is a cooperative of at least 100 people with medical-marijuana recommendations who pay collectively to lease the land and building near Ivanhoe, where marijuana is grown and distributed to members.
County officials went to court seeking an injunction against the cooperative, claiming that it operates a medical-marijuana dispensary in an area zoned for agricultural use.
The county ordinance, adopted in 2009, requires medical-marijuana grow sites and dispensaries to be in commercially zoned areas of the unincorporated county.
Other provisions require that growing plants has to be done in-doors, along with additional requirements that include security measures and containing the plants' smell.
Earlier this week, Judge Paul Vortmann issued an injunction against Foothill Growers, striking down the cooperative's claim that because the building it leased was used for commercial purposes in the past and the county didn't take action then, the cooperative should be allowed to continue operating there.
Romaine said the county's act conflicts with the statements of purpose of both the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the law California voters approved that first allowed for the cultivation and use of marijuana to treat medical conditions, and the state Legislature's Medical Marijuana Program Act of 2004, which clarified the legal guideline for medical-marijuana possession.
"It imposes undue restrictions on the medical use of marijuana by people," he said, "more particularly in their ability to have a legitimate source of the medicine they require."
Romaine said that the plan is to move the cooperative to a new site and operate in compliance with the county ordinance until the appeals process ends and that his clients are confident the county ordinance will be struck down.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: visaliatimesdelta.com
Author: David Castellon
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: visaliatimesdelta.com
Website: Pot cooperative to appeal court ruling, move to another site
But it may take days to file the case with California's 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno, said Hanford attorney Bill Romaine, who represents Foothill Growers Association Inc.
"In the interest of preserving patients' need for medicine ... what our clients are going to do is relocate to an area that is properly zoned, according to the county ordinance," he said.
It plans to be closed by noon and open as soon as it can at another location in the county, Romaine said.
He said Thursday that he believed the cooperative had negotiated to use a new site in unincorporated Tulare County.
Foothill Growers is a cooperative of at least 100 people with medical-marijuana recommendations who pay collectively to lease the land and building near Ivanhoe, where marijuana is grown and distributed to members.
County officials went to court seeking an injunction against the cooperative, claiming that it operates a medical-marijuana dispensary in an area zoned for agricultural use.
The county ordinance, adopted in 2009, requires medical-marijuana grow sites and dispensaries to be in commercially zoned areas of the unincorporated county.
Other provisions require that growing plants has to be done in-doors, along with additional requirements that include security measures and containing the plants' smell.
Earlier this week, Judge Paul Vortmann issued an injunction against Foothill Growers, striking down the cooperative's claim that because the building it leased was used for commercial purposes in the past and the county didn't take action then, the cooperative should be allowed to continue operating there.
Romaine said the county's act conflicts with the statements of purpose of both the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the law California voters approved that first allowed for the cultivation and use of marijuana to treat medical conditions, and the state Legislature's Medical Marijuana Program Act of 2004, which clarified the legal guideline for medical-marijuana possession.
"It imposes undue restrictions on the medical use of marijuana by people," he said, "more particularly in their ability to have a legitimate source of the medicine they require."
Romaine said that the plan is to move the cooperative to a new site and operate in compliance with the county ordinance until the appeals process ends and that his clients are confident the county ordinance will be struck down.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: visaliatimesdelta.com
Author: David Castellon
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: visaliatimesdelta.com
Website: Pot cooperative to appeal court ruling, move to another site
