Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
A legal challenge to Palm Spring's recent ordinance regulating medical marijuana collectives was overruled Tuesday by a Riverside County Superior Court judge, court records show.
Judge Harold W. Hopp's decision to uphold Palm Spring's “authority to enact reasonable zoning restrictions” on collectives leaves the fate of several collectives in the city up in the air, said J. David Nick, attorney for Palm Springs-based The Holistic Collective.
The collective, at 2235 N. Palm Canyon Drive, filed a June 4 demurrer, which Hopp overruled. The collective challenged the legality of a city ordinance enacted in April that limits the number of collectives to two and prohibits them from operating outside of industrial and manufacturing zones.
Palm Springs is the only city in Riverside County to pass a law allowing medical marijuana dispensaries.
The state laws on dispensaries should trump any local laws, Nick said Tuesday. Hopp's decision, however, found the state laws to be “limited in scope, exempting medical users and their primary caregivers from criminal liability.”
The Holistic Collective's demurrer was a response to a complaint the city filed against the collective in April. The suit alleges Holistic violated Palm Spring's 2006 moratorium on pot dispensaries, and that it later operated without the proper permits under the April ordinance, according to Deputy City Attorney Ben Ammerman.
Holistic was among several collectives operating in the city before the April ordinance, Ammerman said.
The city received by its July 6 deadline 11 applications to fill the two collective slots allowed under the ordinance, according to Director of Planning Services Craig Ewing. The City Council is expected to select up to two collective operators from the applicants this fall, Ewing said.
Holistic is considering its next legal move, Nick said Tuesday. It could file a writ with the 4th District Court of Appeals, or it could challenge the legality of limiting the city's number of collectives. Hopp's decision did not address specifically that issue, Nick and Ammerman said.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: MyDesert.com
Author: Marcel Honoré
Copyright: 2009 MyDesert.com
Contact: MyDesert.com | Palm Springs Customer Service | The Desert Sun
Website: Judge upholds city's pot ordinance | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun
Judge Harold W. Hopp's decision to uphold Palm Spring's “authority to enact reasonable zoning restrictions” on collectives leaves the fate of several collectives in the city up in the air, said J. David Nick, attorney for Palm Springs-based The Holistic Collective.
The collective, at 2235 N. Palm Canyon Drive, filed a June 4 demurrer, which Hopp overruled. The collective challenged the legality of a city ordinance enacted in April that limits the number of collectives to two and prohibits them from operating outside of industrial and manufacturing zones.
Palm Springs is the only city in Riverside County to pass a law allowing medical marijuana dispensaries.
The state laws on dispensaries should trump any local laws, Nick said Tuesday. Hopp's decision, however, found the state laws to be “limited in scope, exempting medical users and their primary caregivers from criminal liability.”
The Holistic Collective's demurrer was a response to a complaint the city filed against the collective in April. The suit alleges Holistic violated Palm Spring's 2006 moratorium on pot dispensaries, and that it later operated without the proper permits under the April ordinance, according to Deputy City Attorney Ben Ammerman.
Holistic was among several collectives operating in the city before the April ordinance, Ammerman said.
The city received by its July 6 deadline 11 applications to fill the two collective slots allowed under the ordinance, according to Director of Planning Services Craig Ewing. The City Council is expected to select up to two collective operators from the applicants this fall, Ewing said.
Holistic is considering its next legal move, Nick said Tuesday. It could file a writ with the 4th District Court of Appeals, or it could challenge the legality of limiting the city's number of collectives. Hopp's decision did not address specifically that issue, Nick and Ammerman said.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: MyDesert.com
Author: Marcel Honoré
Copyright: 2009 MyDesert.com
Contact: MyDesert.com | Palm Springs Customer Service | The Desert Sun
Website: Judge upholds city's pot ordinance | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun
