Pubdate: Sat, 20 Mar 2010
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Bay Area News Group
Contact:  http://www.contracostatimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/96
Author: Doug Jastrow
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries

WALNUT CREEK MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE PREPARES FOR CLOSURE

WALNUT CREEK - Outside a nondescript office building just off 
Interstate 680, several customers hoping to obtain medical marijuana 
from the 3C Medical Cannabis Collective were met at the front door 
and told the collective was closed for the day.

The organization had locked its doors early because it had run out of 
marijuana, according to Brian Hyman, its executive director.

Hyman said his depleted stock was in anticipation of the collective's 
last day of business Monday. The collective was found to be in 
violation of the city's zoning laws and ordered by a Superior Court 
judge last month to close by Tuesday or face contempt-of-court 
charges. Hyman said he plans to comply with the judge's ruling.

"It's difficult to sit there and tell people there's nothing I can 
do," Hyman said. "It's a shame."

The city of Walnut Creek has been trying to shut down the collective 
since it first opened in August. City leaders issued a $500 fine for 
every day the collective remained in business. The bill now stands at 
around $60,000, although Hyman plans to fight the penalties. But it 
was the judge's preliminary injunction last month that ultimately 
forced Hyman to begin shuttering the collective.

Hyman said he has spent months trying to work out a compromise with 
the city, but to no avail. He suggested several ideas for potential 
ordinances last September that would allow the collective to stay in 
business. According to Hyman, the city simply ignored him.

"They just keep punting it back. Nothing sticks," Hyman said. 
"They're really stringing patients along."

He plans to continue the fight to one day reopen.

Hyman recently joined forces with Americans for Safe Access, a 
national medical marijuana advocacy group, and formed a new Contra 
Costa County chapter. He also hopes to get a measure on this year's ballot.

"A lot of people are outraged and we have a good rapport with 
patients," Hyman said. "We want to take this straight to the people."

Those who were turned away Saturday expressed concern that they would 
no longer have the convenience of driving to Walnut Creek to pick up 
their medication.

A woman from Pleasant Hill who requested anonymity said she was 
unsure what she would do once the collective closed. A degenerative 
disease in her back prevents her from driving much farther than 
Walnut Creek and she uses medical marijuana to deal with the pain.

"I might have to go get it on the streets again," she said.

Hyman said the vast legal bills he has compiled over the past few 
months - around $50,000 worth - have led him to the brink of 
bankruptcy. But the thought of shutting his doors and just walking 
away never occurred to him.

"We're going to continue to fight," he said, "because we know people want us."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom