Pubdate: Thu, 06 Mar 2008 Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA) Copyright: 2008 The Desert Sun Contact: http://local2.thedesertsun.com/mailer/opinionwrap.php Website: http://www.thedesertsun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112 Note: Does not accept LTEs from outside circulation area. Author: K Kaufmann, The Desert Sun Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) ESSENTIAL HERBS AND OILS TO REOPEN TODAY Cathedral City Continues Efforts to Revoke Medical Marijuana Dispensary's Business License Essential Herbs and Oils, a medical marijuana dispensary on E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City, is set to reopen for business at 11 a.m. today. Owner Virginia Hurn announced the reopening Wednesday, and added an invitation to city officials to work with her to allow the business to stay open. "We're going to take the $30,000 we would have spent fighting them (in court), and we're going to spend the money on helping (the community)," Hurn said. Mayor Kathy DeRosa declined comment. The dispensary, located at 68-487 E. Palm Canyon Drive, has been closed since Feb. 21, after a federal judge in Riverside granted a request from Cathedral City officials for a temporary restraining order against the business. But Judge Stephen G. Larson refused the city's request for a permanent federal injunction on Monday, ruling that Cathedral City did not have right to pursue a case based on the federal ban on marijuana. In issuing his ruling, Larson also encouraged the city to pursue the case through the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. City officials said they have contacted the office, but Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the office, declined comment. Essential Herbs and Oils opened in January with a business license issued from the city last November. One the license, owners Hurn and Teresa Sotelo identified the business as a manufacturer and retailer of herbs and extracts. City officials issued two cease-and-desist orders against the dispenary early in February, before filing the request for the injunction and restraining order. They are also attempting to revoke the shop's business license. A date for a hearing on the revocation has yet to be set, said Deputy City Manager Julie Baumer. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake