Pubdate: Tue, 14 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 Author: Julissa Mckinnon PERRIS: PATIENTS PROTEST ORDER TO CLOSE POT CLINIC More than 15 people asked the Perris City Council on Tuesday night to reconsider a code enforcement citation that essentially orders Perris' only walk-in marijuana clinic to close. Situated among mom-and-pop markets on Indian Hills Circle, the Relaxed Expressions Collective is a medical pot clinic where patients help cultivate an indoor garden of 40 to 60 marijuana plants, said executive director Ryan Raven. People who spoke from the lectern identified themselves as patients suffering from illnesses ranging from cancer to arthritis to epilepsy. They said the clinic allows them safe access to a substance that relieves chronic pain without severe side effects. Last Thursday, the city issued the clinic a notice of violation that cites it for "illegal building construction" and for lacking a business license. The notice also states a business license cannot be granted because of a city ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries. The citation gives the business until Dec. 24 to correct its violations. "There's no way for us to correct it because in order to correct it we need to obtain a business license," Raven said after the council meeting. "We hope to meet with them and start discussing possible remedies." The council did not respond to the speakers. Citing the state's Brown Act, which sets rules for open government meetings, Mayor Daryl Busch said the council is restricted in discussing things not on the meeting agenda. The City Council's next scheduled meeting is Dec. 28, four days after the clinic's deadline. Before opening the clinic in November 2009, Raven said, he asked Perris officials whether he needed any special permits to operate a social club because he said that a marijuana-growing collective fits that category. He said he did not mention that the social club would be cultivating or selling pot. "If the state of California allows us to grow in our backyard, how can the city prevent us from collectively cultivating?" Raven asked. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt