Operators of a medical marijuana clinic and collective in Riverside said Friday both facilities will stay open in spite of a lawsuit the city of Riverside filed this week to shut them down.
Riverside City Attorney Greg Priamos said he's seeking an injunction against the clinic, which issues doctor recommendations for marijuana, and the nearby dispensary, a members-only collective where patients can purchase marijuana, because city zoning bans distribution of the drug.
The defendants have 30 days to respond to the suit, and then a hearing will be set.
The THCF Medical Clinic opened in 2008 in an industrial area of North Main Street, and clinic manager Lanny Swerdlow said to date it has seen close to 2,000 patients. Swerdlow, a nurse, is named in the injunction.
The collective, called the Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center, opened in December 2009 a few doors away from the clinic. General Manager William Sump said the collective has close to 5,000 members.
Priamos said that simply issuing recommendations for medical marijuana isn't a problem, but the city is going after both facilities because officials believe they are one operation, with Swerdlow as the operator.
"The problem is that they are dispensing marijuana in violation of our zoning code," Priamos said.
Swerdlow and Sump maintain that state law allows patient collectives, and cities can regulate them but not ban them outright. The collective's attorneys will respond to the injunction, Sump said, but he doesn't intend to close.
"We're very pleased with the city that they're keeping it civil and that we can let a judge decide this," Sump said.
Swerdlow doesn't believe the clinic should be affected by the city's action, he said, because while he serves on the collective's three-member board, the two facilities are otherwise completely separate operations.
He said the city's filing used an old name the collective never did business under, and he shouldn't have been included because he's not involved with its day-to-day operations.
No court dates have been set in the case. Priamos said the city also referred the issue to the district attorney, who was investigating. County workers were furloughed Friday and Riverside County district attorney's spokesman John Hall could not be reached.
The city's suit also names as defendants the owner and management company of the property where the clinic and collective sit, and the bank that holds the owners' mortgage. Priamos said the city also is investigating "several" other marijuana dispensaries in the city but declined to give specifics.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Press-Enterprise
Author: ALICIA ROBINSON
Copyright: 2010 Press-Enterprise Company
Riverside City Attorney Greg Priamos said he's seeking an injunction against the clinic, which issues doctor recommendations for marijuana, and the nearby dispensary, a members-only collective where patients can purchase marijuana, because city zoning bans distribution of the drug.
The defendants have 30 days to respond to the suit, and then a hearing will be set.
The THCF Medical Clinic opened in 2008 in an industrial area of North Main Street, and clinic manager Lanny Swerdlow said to date it has seen close to 2,000 patients. Swerdlow, a nurse, is named in the injunction.
The collective, called the Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center, opened in December 2009 a few doors away from the clinic. General Manager William Sump said the collective has close to 5,000 members.
Priamos said that simply issuing recommendations for medical marijuana isn't a problem, but the city is going after both facilities because officials believe they are one operation, with Swerdlow as the operator.
"The problem is that they are dispensing marijuana in violation of our zoning code," Priamos said.
Swerdlow and Sump maintain that state law allows patient collectives, and cities can regulate them but not ban them outright. The collective's attorneys will respond to the injunction, Sump said, but he doesn't intend to close.
"We're very pleased with the city that they're keeping it civil and that we can let a judge decide this," Sump said.
Swerdlow doesn't believe the clinic should be affected by the city's action, he said, because while he serves on the collective's three-member board, the two facilities are otherwise completely separate operations.
He said the city's filing used an old name the collective never did business under, and he shouldn't have been included because he's not involved with its day-to-day operations.
No court dates have been set in the case. Priamos said the city also referred the issue to the district attorney, who was investigating. County workers were furloughed Friday and Riverside County district attorney's spokesman John Hall could not be reached.
The city's suit also names as defendants the owner and management company of the property where the clinic and collective sit, and the bank that holds the owners' mortgage. Priamos said the city also is investigating "several" other marijuana dispensaries in the city but declined to give specifics.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Press-Enterprise
Author: ALICIA ROBINSON
Copyright: 2010 Press-Enterprise Company
