Pubdate: Thu, 09 Dec 2010
Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Copyright: 2010 The Press-Enterprise Company
Contact: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/letters_form.html
Website: http://www.pe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830
Authors: Alicia Robinson and Sandra Stokley
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

Riverside:

SOME MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES CLOSE, OTHERS STAY

Riverside's legal efforts to close medical marijuana dispensaries 
have led to several operations closing in recent months, City 
Attorney Greg Priamos said.

But other dispensaries remain open, and the operators of one facility 
said they'll keep trying to provide medicine to patients who need it.

The city is due in court today for a hearing on whether the Inland 
Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center can remain open or must 
close immediately.

Last month, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Molloy ruled 
that the city can use zoning to ban pot dispensaries. He delayed 
enacting an injunction that would shutter the center, so its 
operators could file an appeal.

Priamos' approach included filing requests for injunctions against 
seven dispensaries, with two more to be filed this week, and letting 
other facilities know about the legal actions to urge them to close.

He said Wednesday that out of 12 facilities the city knew of, seven 
have closed, and he is still focused on the five that remain.

Supporters of medical marijuana have argued that state law allows 
cities to regulate but not entirely ban dispensaries.

Serving patients

Marley Martinez, one of the partners who run Riverside City 
Caregivers, a dispensary in a Hole Avenue strip mall, said she was 
advised by the facility's attorneys to "keep doing what we're doing."

Partner Matthew Cupp said the facility originally opened as Discount 
Mobile Collective in June but changed its name to Riverside City 
Caregivers in October, after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the city.

Martinez was not certain how many patients the dispensary has but 
said, "We have two filing cabinets that are full" of their paperwork.

"We just try to give people what they need," she said.

Martinez said the dispensary has a significant number of patients in 
their 60s and older who use medical marijuana to ease the pain of hip 
replacements or cancer treatments.

Two other dispensaries, Compassionate Wellness Center and Hole in One 
Collective, were open for business Wednesday but had no one available 
to comment, according to front desk employees.

Tim Molinari, 29, a Riverside City Caregivers patient who arrived an 
hour before the 11 a.m. opening time, said he has used medical 
marijuana to treat chronic back pain since he was hit by a car in 2005.

"No other medication is as effective as medical cannabis," he said. 
"I've taken others."

Neighboring business owners had mixed opinions on whether the 
dispensaries should stay or go.

Marc Kantar owns Wholesale Jewelry Exchange in a business park on 
East La Cadena Drive, where the Inland Empire Caregiver dispensary 
recently closed.

Other than one woman who told him she had cancer, Kantar said, people 
visiting the dispensary looked young and healthy.

"They would come out with their bags in their hand like they had 
candy," he said. "I think they were abusing the system."

Hairdresser Lupe Zamora, who works a few doors down from Riverside 
City Caregivers, said she frequently smells marijuana smoke wafting over.

"Thank God," she said, on hearing of the city's efforts to close 
dispensaries. "They have people in and out of there all day long. 
People come in to pick up drugs and park wherever they want."

She said some patients straddle two parking spaces and others, with 
no visible disabilities, park in the handicapped spots.

But Miguel Acosta, who owns the shoe repair shop next door to the 
dispensary, said he has had no problems with the facility.

He estimated that 60 percent of the patients are older folks, the 
other 40 percent younger people.

"The seniors who go in there look like they really need it," he said, 
adding that some are in wheelchairs.

"I have no problem with them," he said with a shrug.

Approach questioned

Priamos said residents have tipped the city off to most of the 
dispensaries it is pursuing.

"They don't want these establishments in their community," he said. 
"The people who are calling to report them view them as a criminal enterprise."

Some have questioned Priamos' approach. The city's court filings name 
as defendants not only dispensary operators but also property owners 
and the banks that hold their mortgages.

Dwight Kelly, who heads a company that leases space to the Hole in 
One Collective, said the city shouldn't be going after landlords of 
dispensaries when it doesn't pursue fly-by-night businesses such as 
illegal gold buyers.

"For them to even include landlords, that is hypocrisy," Kelly said. 
"All we're doing is renting the building."

Priamos said it is the landlord's responsibility to know whether 
businesses it rents to are legal.

While Priamos battles Riverside dispensaries in court, other 
governments have made their own moves to limit medical marijuana shops.

Orange and Los Angeles counties recently banned them in 
unincorporated areas, and Riverside County supervisors are 
considering whether to pass regulations or ban the facilities.

[SIDEBAR]

Medical marijuana

in Riverside

City officials say their zoning forbids marijuana dispensaries.

Seven of the 12 marijuana dispensaries in Riverside have closed.

The city is seeking court injunctions to close the other five.

An 8:30 a.m. hearing today in Riverside County Superior Court may 
decide whether one dispensary must close.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom