Truth Seeker
New Member
The city has issued an order for a medical marijuana dispensary to close down by today or face a court action, City Attorney Steve Quintanilla said Friday.
It is also being sued by two other dispensaries.
Officials found out about the Rancho Mirage Safe Access and Wellness Center, at 72-067 Highway 111, after "residents in the area complained of smelling marijuana smoke," Quintanilla said. A code enforcement officer confirmed that a dispensary was operating there, and the city issued an administrative order giving it 10 days to shut down or else the city would seek a Riverside County Superior Court order that it immediately close.
The City Council voted to ban all storefront medical marijuana dispensaries in early 2011 after Desert Heart Collective dispensary briefly opened in the city, then shut down in response to a city moratorium. Desert Heart Collective sued, and won a judgement from Superior Court Judge Randall White that the ban was invalid under the state's medical marijuana laws. The city has appealed, which Quintanilla said puts a stay on everything, including White's ruling.
"It's our position that the ordinance is in effect," he said.
Joseph Rhea, the attorney for Rancho Mirage Safe Access, said that everyone in the medical marijuana community is awaiting the state Supreme Court's verdict on several cases, which will determine whether cities can outlaw all storefront dispensaries or will be required to permit them under certain circumstances.
Rhea said the dispensary does not plan to close in response to the city's order, but will if the court rules that complete bans like Rancho Mirage's are constitutional. In the meantime, the owners would like to know what zoning laws they need to follow, such as operating hours, to coexist with the community.
"We'd like the city to tell us what rules we need to comply by while we're all waiting for the California Supreme Court to rule. It would save everybody a lot of time and angst and money," Rhea said.
The city is being sued by two other dispensaries, including Desert Heart Collective. It has issued its third application for a certificate of occupancy for a location in the city.
The first application was denied for a location near the corner of Bob Hope Drive and Highway 111 in the summer of 2010, the second was at another Highway 111 location. The current application is for 34-530 Bob Hope Drive, city officials said. Quintanilla said the city will respond to this application by July 6.
Desert Heart Collective is also seeking attorney's fees in this case. Lawyer Nathan Shaman said he couldn't quote an exact figure but said the fees being sought would be in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
The second dispensary, Remedy Inc., filed suit against the city this month for denying its application for a certificate of occupancy at 69-550 Highway 111, Suite 4C. The dispensary is asking the court to again declare the city ordinance invalid and also to find that the city should not require it to obtain a certificate of occupancy because it would not be "doing business" as a nonprofit.
Quintanilla said the city hasn't formally responded to the suit, so it is not expected to have its first court hearing until August, a timetable agreed to by Shaman, who is also working on the Remedy case.
Shaman said "the issues in both cases are exactly the same – does the city of Rancho Mirage have the right to completely ban dispensaries, and can they deny the dispensaries a certificate of occupancy that they are otherwise entitled to?"
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: mydesert.com
Author: Blake Herzog
Contact: Feedback | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com
Website: Rancho Mirage orders medical pot dispensary to close | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com
It is also being sued by two other dispensaries.
Officials found out about the Rancho Mirage Safe Access and Wellness Center, at 72-067 Highway 111, after "residents in the area complained of smelling marijuana smoke," Quintanilla said. A code enforcement officer confirmed that a dispensary was operating there, and the city issued an administrative order giving it 10 days to shut down or else the city would seek a Riverside County Superior Court order that it immediately close.
The City Council voted to ban all storefront medical marijuana dispensaries in early 2011 after Desert Heart Collective dispensary briefly opened in the city, then shut down in response to a city moratorium. Desert Heart Collective sued, and won a judgement from Superior Court Judge Randall White that the ban was invalid under the state's medical marijuana laws. The city has appealed, which Quintanilla said puts a stay on everything, including White's ruling.
"It's our position that the ordinance is in effect," he said.
Joseph Rhea, the attorney for Rancho Mirage Safe Access, said that everyone in the medical marijuana community is awaiting the state Supreme Court's verdict on several cases, which will determine whether cities can outlaw all storefront dispensaries or will be required to permit them under certain circumstances.
Rhea said the dispensary does not plan to close in response to the city's order, but will if the court rules that complete bans like Rancho Mirage's are constitutional. In the meantime, the owners would like to know what zoning laws they need to follow, such as operating hours, to coexist with the community.
"We'd like the city to tell us what rules we need to comply by while we're all waiting for the California Supreme Court to rule. It would save everybody a lot of time and angst and money," Rhea said.
The city is being sued by two other dispensaries, including Desert Heart Collective. It has issued its third application for a certificate of occupancy for a location in the city.
The first application was denied for a location near the corner of Bob Hope Drive and Highway 111 in the summer of 2010, the second was at another Highway 111 location. The current application is for 34-530 Bob Hope Drive, city officials said. Quintanilla said the city will respond to this application by July 6.
Desert Heart Collective is also seeking attorney's fees in this case. Lawyer Nathan Shaman said he couldn't quote an exact figure but said the fees being sought would be in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
The second dispensary, Remedy Inc., filed suit against the city this month for denying its application for a certificate of occupancy at 69-550 Highway 111, Suite 4C. The dispensary is asking the court to again declare the city ordinance invalid and also to find that the city should not require it to obtain a certificate of occupancy because it would not be "doing business" as a nonprofit.
Quintanilla said the city hasn't formally responded to the suit, so it is not expected to have its first court hearing until August, a timetable agreed to by Shaman, who is also working on the Remedy case.
Shaman said "the issues in both cases are exactly the same – does the city of Rancho Mirage have the right to completely ban dispensaries, and can they deny the dispensaries a certificate of occupancy that they are otherwise entitled to?"
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: mydesert.com
Author: Blake Herzog
Contact: Feedback | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com
Website: Rancho Mirage orders medical pot dispensary to close | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com
