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The curtain has fallen, at least temporarily, on the distribution of marijuana at the First Hemp Bank in Galt.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin R. Culhane issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday, granting a request from attorneys for Galt to block the latest effort to operate a cannabis club in the city.
The city went to court earlier this week to shut down First Hemp Bank, citing violation of city zoning laws and of the city's prohibition against marijuana dispensaries.
The city also is seeking $75,000 in civil penalties for violations of the state's Controlled Substances Abatement Act.
The penalties, if the judge agrees, would be $25,000 against each of two operators of the First Hemp Bank, founder David Clancy and manager William Brew of Oakland, and against the property owner, Julian Gonzalez of Galt.
Gonzalez is the owner of the Fourth Street property and holds the lease.
The act is "designed (for example) to apply to a crack house," said Sacramento attorney Jonathan Hobbs, who is working with City Attorney Steven Rudolph on the city's behalf.
"But it also applies to a medical dispensary operating in violation of the law," Hobbs said.
Backers of the operation have said they are not a dispensary but have claimed that under federal or state authority they can legally "distribute" pot to the "seriously ill clientele" once served by the Galt Wellness Center.
The city closed down the Wellness Center in mid-August by court injunction.
Soon after, First Hemp Bank opened at the same location, the 500 block of Lincoln Way, and remained until the city warned they would be closed, too, under the same court order that shuttered the Galt Wellness Center.
Weeks later, First Hemp Bank reopened at the Fourth Street site.
On Friday, the group's newly hired Santa Barbara attorney, Michael Berger, said First Hemp Bank will "honor the city's prescription by ordinance against the dispensing of medicinal marijuana.
"What we're hoping to do is discuss the operation and goals of First Hemp with the city in hopes that they might take another view of it," Berger said. "That would be through open discussion not in defiance of their ordinance."
Before filing the latest court action, city officials said they met with the Fourth Street property owner and the Hemp Bank's operators to explain that they were in violation of city laws.
They said they urged each to follow the law voluntarily, to no avail. Earlier this week, the City Council voted 4-0 to authorize filing a complaint.
Clancy, reached for comment on Friday, said First Hemp Bank has quit distributions but is continuing to meet clients at the site.
"We still have a patient base that is coming around there," Clancy said, adding that it is notifying patients "what we're doing, delivery services and such."
Brew, manager of the Galt operation, said First Hemp Bank "is working diligently with the city to make sure that everything works out best for both sides."
Gonzalez, the property owner, said he would withhold comment "until we hear form our lawyer."
The city plans to seek a preliminary injunction — precursor to a possible permanent order — at a Nov. 10 court hearing.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:sacbee.com
Author: Loretta Kalb
Contact: The Sacramento Bee - California News, Local News - Sacramento CA
Copyright: The Sacramento Bee
Website:Galt gets court order stopping cannabis club from distributing pot - Marijuana - sacbee.com
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kevin R. Culhane issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday, granting a request from attorneys for Galt to block the latest effort to operate a cannabis club in the city.
The city went to court earlier this week to shut down First Hemp Bank, citing violation of city zoning laws and of the city's prohibition against marijuana dispensaries.
The city also is seeking $75,000 in civil penalties for violations of the state's Controlled Substances Abatement Act.
The penalties, if the judge agrees, would be $25,000 against each of two operators of the First Hemp Bank, founder David Clancy and manager William Brew of Oakland, and against the property owner, Julian Gonzalez of Galt.
Gonzalez is the owner of the Fourth Street property and holds the lease.
The act is "designed (for example) to apply to a crack house," said Sacramento attorney Jonathan Hobbs, who is working with City Attorney Steven Rudolph on the city's behalf.
"But it also applies to a medical dispensary operating in violation of the law," Hobbs said.
Backers of the operation have said they are not a dispensary but have claimed that under federal or state authority they can legally "distribute" pot to the "seriously ill clientele" once served by the Galt Wellness Center.
The city closed down the Wellness Center in mid-August by court injunction.
Soon after, First Hemp Bank opened at the same location, the 500 block of Lincoln Way, and remained until the city warned they would be closed, too, under the same court order that shuttered the Galt Wellness Center.
Weeks later, First Hemp Bank reopened at the Fourth Street site.
On Friday, the group's newly hired Santa Barbara attorney, Michael Berger, said First Hemp Bank will "honor the city's prescription by ordinance against the dispensing of medicinal marijuana.
"What we're hoping to do is discuss the operation and goals of First Hemp with the city in hopes that they might take another view of it," Berger said. "That would be through open discussion not in defiance of their ordinance."
Before filing the latest court action, city officials said they met with the Fourth Street property owner and the Hemp Bank's operators to explain that they were in violation of city laws.
They said they urged each to follow the law voluntarily, to no avail. Earlier this week, the City Council voted 4-0 to authorize filing a complaint.
Clancy, reached for comment on Friday, said First Hemp Bank has quit distributions but is continuing to meet clients at the site.
"We still have a patient base that is coming around there," Clancy said, adding that it is notifying patients "what we're doing, delivery services and such."
Brew, manager of the Galt operation, said First Hemp Bank "is working diligently with the city to make sure that everything works out best for both sides."
Gonzalez, the property owner, said he would withhold comment "until we hear form our lawyer."
The city plans to seek a preliminary injunction — precursor to a possible permanent order — at a Nov. 10 court hearing.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:sacbee.com
Author: Loretta Kalb
Contact: The Sacramento Bee - California News, Local News - Sacramento CA
Copyright: The Sacramento Bee
Website:Galt gets court order stopping cannabis club from distributing pot - Marijuana - sacbee.com
