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Riverside will resume its efforts to shut down the medical marijuana dispensaries still operating within its boundaries now that a state appellate court order has upheld the city's ban on such storefronts.
About 10 to 12 medical marijuana outlets remain open, City Attorney Greg Priamos said Monday, Dec. 3, as he commented on a Fourth District Court of Appeal order issued Nov. 29. Priamos said 45 dispensaries in the city have closed since a ban was put in place nearly a year ago.
The order from the court's Division Two, based in Riverside, overturns an August ruling by Superior Court Judge John Vineyard. He said a local government cannot ban medical marijuana stores if they are operating legally under the state laws that authorize them. While Vineyard's ruling addressed only one store, it affected city's efforts to complete its ban on all of them.
The owner of the store, Closet Patient Care dispensary on Elizabeth Street in Riverside, declined to comment Monday. The attorney representing the store did not immediately return a call.
The order reversing Vineyard's ruling a does not end the appellate case, which the judges said should "proceed without undue delay." The restored preliminary injunction against Closet Patient Care will remain in effect while the case is appealed, the court said.
It was the same Division 2 that, in a November 2011 published ruling, the first in the state to uphold that local governments have the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.
The published ruling has since been challenged, and other state appellate courts have reached differing opinions. The state Supreme Court is now considering several of those cases. Further complicating the issue is that marijuana is illegal in all circumstances under federal law. The Nov. 29 order in Riverside does not affect the outcome of the high court cases.
The 4th District Division Two's order upholding the local government ban is its second such action in the past few months. In a separate case, Vineyard in May had overturned Riverside County's ban on two dispensaries. That was knocked back with an appellate court order in September.
"I think our Court of Appeal has made it abundantly clear how it views the legality of the ban," Priamos said. "I wouldn't anticipate that our trial courts are going to deny any more preliminary injunctions or dissolve any injunctions previously issued."
The shut-downs will take time. Priamos said the city will send cease-and-desist letters to the owners of the storefronts and the property owners who rent to them. If the stores do not close after receiving the letters, the city will go to court to seek an order closing them – the process halted by Vineyard's ruling in August.
"We are working on the motions for preliminary injunctions as we speak," Priamos said Monday.
Another judge also ruled against the county's dispensary ban in August in a different case affecting 16 stores. The county is seeking an order overturning that ruling. Deputy County Counsel Patti F. Smith said Monday she expects the ban to be upheld again.
"It would behoove these storefront operations that are open without county permission to close until the Supreme Court opines and the law is settled," Smith said.
The 4th District Division 2 jurisdiction includes Riverside, San Bernardino and Inyo counties.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: pe.com
Author: Richard K. De Atley
Contact: About Us | PE.com - Press-Enterprise
Website: RIVERSIDE: Medical marijuana dispensary ban upheld again | Breaking News | PE.com - Press-Enterprise
About 10 to 12 medical marijuana outlets remain open, City Attorney Greg Priamos said Monday, Dec. 3, as he commented on a Fourth District Court of Appeal order issued Nov. 29. Priamos said 45 dispensaries in the city have closed since a ban was put in place nearly a year ago.
The order from the court's Division Two, based in Riverside, overturns an August ruling by Superior Court Judge John Vineyard. He said a local government cannot ban medical marijuana stores if they are operating legally under the state laws that authorize them. While Vineyard's ruling addressed only one store, it affected city's efforts to complete its ban on all of them.
The owner of the store, Closet Patient Care dispensary on Elizabeth Street in Riverside, declined to comment Monday. The attorney representing the store did not immediately return a call.
The order reversing Vineyard's ruling a does not end the appellate case, which the judges said should "proceed without undue delay." The restored preliminary injunction against Closet Patient Care will remain in effect while the case is appealed, the court said.
It was the same Division 2 that, in a November 2011 published ruling, the first in the state to uphold that local governments have the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.
The published ruling has since been challenged, and other state appellate courts have reached differing opinions. The state Supreme Court is now considering several of those cases. Further complicating the issue is that marijuana is illegal in all circumstances under federal law. The Nov. 29 order in Riverside does not affect the outcome of the high court cases.
The 4th District Division Two's order upholding the local government ban is its second such action in the past few months. In a separate case, Vineyard in May had overturned Riverside County's ban on two dispensaries. That was knocked back with an appellate court order in September.
"I think our Court of Appeal has made it abundantly clear how it views the legality of the ban," Priamos said. "I wouldn't anticipate that our trial courts are going to deny any more preliminary injunctions or dissolve any injunctions previously issued."
The shut-downs will take time. Priamos said the city will send cease-and-desist letters to the owners of the storefronts and the property owners who rent to them. If the stores do not close after receiving the letters, the city will go to court to seek an order closing them – the process halted by Vineyard's ruling in August.
"We are working on the motions for preliminary injunctions as we speak," Priamos said Monday.
Another judge also ruled against the county's dispensary ban in August in a different case affecting 16 stores. The county is seeking an order overturning that ruling. Deputy County Counsel Patti F. Smith said Monday she expects the ban to be upheld again.
"It would behoove these storefront operations that are open without county permission to close until the Supreme Court opines and the law is settled," Smith said.
The 4th District Division 2 jurisdiction includes Riverside, San Bernardino and Inyo counties.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: pe.com
Author: Richard K. De Atley
Contact: About Us | PE.com - Press-Enterprise
Website: RIVERSIDE: Medical marijuana dispensary ban upheld again | Breaking News | PE.com - Press-Enterprise
