The fate of four Marin medical marijuana dispensaries hangs in the balance while county and town officials plot their next moves after ordering them to shut down.
Corte Madera Town Attorney Jeffrey Walter sent cease-and-desist letters last month to Marin Holistic Solutions and Going Green, warning the two Tamal Plaza dispensaries to stop storing, selling and cultivating pot by June 25.
Both marijuana collectives were still operating as of Friday and held open houses earlier in the week.
"We're in a holding pattern," Going Green operator Kim Pelham said, noting that both dispensaries have collected more than 800 signatures from supporters in the past couple of weeks.
Marin County officials have sent similar enforcement letters to the Tree of Life dispensary in Santa Venetia and Marin Wellness Center in Kentfield, Code Enforcement Specialist Cristy Stanley said.
"From the zoning perspective, our ordinance just doesn't allow this use anywhere in the county," Stanley said. "We're looking at it as an illegal use."
Tree of Life is scheduled for a code hearing before an administrative judge on Sept. 29, and Marin Wellness Center will likely have its hearing in October or November, Stanley said. Walter said last month that he planned to seek a preliminary injunction in Marin County Superior Court if the Corte Madera dispensaries didn't heed his cease-and-desist letters.
Walter didn't return several calls last week, but court records showed he hadn't filed a lawsuit yet.
"We're going to proceed with an action to remove them from there," Corte Madera Councilman Michael Lappert said, adding, "I think the council would be open to listening to a scheme that involved proper zoning so that it's not in close proximity to schools."
In 1996, California voters passed an initiative allowing seriously ill people to grow and use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. However, the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 makes it illegal to manufacture, distribute, dispense or possess any controlled substance - leading to confusion and legal challenges.
Corte Madera and Marin County lack ordinances that explicitly regulate or ban medical marijuana cooperatives, but both jurisdictions have zoning rules that only permit businesses to perform a number of named uses in specific areas, officials said.
Medical marijuana dispensing isn't on the list.
Marin Wellness Center operator Vivian Kaufman and her attorney Scot Candell, who also represents Marin Holistic, addressed the county Board of Supervisors last week, offering to help craft a potential ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.
Kaufman, whose ex-husband used pot during his battle with lung cancer, broke down while describing his illness and subsequent death.
"I've never used drugs," Kaufman said. "I was motivated É to open the center so people like me and like my friends can have a safe environment that would honor them."
In 2007 the Sausalito City Council approved a moratorium prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries from operating in the city, but two pot collectives are open next door to each other on Gate 5 Road, Police Chief Scott Paulin said.
The city won't be shutting down the clubs for the time being while it awaits a decision in an Anaheim lawsuit, which is expected to address whether municipalities can ban marijuana dispensaries, Paulin said. A November ballot measure that would legalize recreational use of marijuana for people over 21 would also radically change enforcement in the state, he noted.
"A lot of cities including Sausalito are taking a wait-and-see (approach)," Paulin said.
Meanwhile, Fairfax recently gave longtime dispensary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana permission to make home deliveries and serve minors.
In May the Corte Madera Planning Commission began considering an ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries that would have allowed the existing clubs to apply for licensing.
However, the Town Council voted 4-0 during a June 1 closed-session discussion to authorize the cease-and-desist letters, Walter said.
Lappert, who was absent for the vote, said town officials changed course because residents complained about the collectives during public comment at several meetings. He also cited business license applications that misrepresented the nature of the dispensaries.
"They made an application based on an herbs store, something like you would find in Chinatown," Lappert said.
Going Green's Pelham has said her attorneys advised her not to put "marijuana" on the application because it would make her vulnerable to federal prosecution.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ContraCostaTimes.com
Author: Jessica Bernstein-Wax
Contact: ContraCostaTimes.com
Copyright: 2010 Bay Area News Group
Website: Fate of four Marin medical pot clubs uncertain
Corte Madera Town Attorney Jeffrey Walter sent cease-and-desist letters last month to Marin Holistic Solutions and Going Green, warning the two Tamal Plaza dispensaries to stop storing, selling and cultivating pot by June 25.
Both marijuana collectives were still operating as of Friday and held open houses earlier in the week.
"We're in a holding pattern," Going Green operator Kim Pelham said, noting that both dispensaries have collected more than 800 signatures from supporters in the past couple of weeks.
Marin County officials have sent similar enforcement letters to the Tree of Life dispensary in Santa Venetia and Marin Wellness Center in Kentfield, Code Enforcement Specialist Cristy Stanley said.
"From the zoning perspective, our ordinance just doesn't allow this use anywhere in the county," Stanley said. "We're looking at it as an illegal use."
Tree of Life is scheduled for a code hearing before an administrative judge on Sept. 29, and Marin Wellness Center will likely have its hearing in October or November, Stanley said. Walter said last month that he planned to seek a preliminary injunction in Marin County Superior Court if the Corte Madera dispensaries didn't heed his cease-and-desist letters.
Walter didn't return several calls last week, but court records showed he hadn't filed a lawsuit yet.
"We're going to proceed with an action to remove them from there," Corte Madera Councilman Michael Lappert said, adding, "I think the council would be open to listening to a scheme that involved proper zoning so that it's not in close proximity to schools."
In 1996, California voters passed an initiative allowing seriously ill people to grow and use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. However, the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 makes it illegal to manufacture, distribute, dispense or possess any controlled substance - leading to confusion and legal challenges.
Corte Madera and Marin County lack ordinances that explicitly regulate or ban medical marijuana cooperatives, but both jurisdictions have zoning rules that only permit businesses to perform a number of named uses in specific areas, officials said.
Medical marijuana dispensing isn't on the list.
Marin Wellness Center operator Vivian Kaufman and her attorney Scot Candell, who also represents Marin Holistic, addressed the county Board of Supervisors last week, offering to help craft a potential ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.
Kaufman, whose ex-husband used pot during his battle with lung cancer, broke down while describing his illness and subsequent death.
"I've never used drugs," Kaufman said. "I was motivated É to open the center so people like me and like my friends can have a safe environment that would honor them."
In 2007 the Sausalito City Council approved a moratorium prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries from operating in the city, but two pot collectives are open next door to each other on Gate 5 Road, Police Chief Scott Paulin said.
The city won't be shutting down the clubs for the time being while it awaits a decision in an Anaheim lawsuit, which is expected to address whether municipalities can ban marijuana dispensaries, Paulin said. A November ballot measure that would legalize recreational use of marijuana for people over 21 would also radically change enforcement in the state, he noted.
"A lot of cities including Sausalito are taking a wait-and-see (approach)," Paulin said.
Meanwhile, Fairfax recently gave longtime dispensary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana permission to make home deliveries and serve minors.
In May the Corte Madera Planning Commission began considering an ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries that would have allowed the existing clubs to apply for licensing.
However, the Town Council voted 4-0 during a June 1 closed-session discussion to authorize the cease-and-desist letters, Walter said.
Lappert, who was absent for the vote, said town officials changed course because residents complained about the collectives during public comment at several meetings. He also cited business license applications that misrepresented the nature of the dispensaries.
"They made an application based on an herbs store, something like you would find in Chinatown," Lappert said.
Going Green's Pelham has said her attorneys advised her not to put "marijuana" on the application because it would make her vulnerable to federal prosecution.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ContraCostaTimes.com
Author: Jessica Bernstein-Wax
Contact: ContraCostaTimes.com
Copyright: 2010 Bay Area News Group
Website: Fate of four Marin medical pot clubs uncertain
