Pubdate: Fri, 05 Oct 2012
Source: Hesperia Star (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Freedom Communications
Contact: http://www.hesperiastar.com/sections/letters-to-the-editor/
Website: http://www.hesperiastar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5254
Author: Rene De La Cruz

HESPERIA SHUTS DOWN MESA MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

HESPERIA - The doors to one of the last remaining medical marijuana 
dispensaries in Hesperia are permanently locked, after owners of the 
High Desert Compassionate Collective were evicted.

Owners of the collective, located in the four-unit strip mall in the 
Mesa area, on the corner of Danbury Road and "I" Avenue, were served 
papers on Wednesday morning - one day short of HDCC's five-month anniversary.

"It's been a slow process, but we finally accomplished our goal," 
City Councilman Thurston "Smitty" Smith said. "We have one more 
collective in the industrial area to close."

Since 2005, 20 collectives have been closed, as the city began citing 
property owners for allowing collectives to operate without a 
business permit, certificate of occupancy or other city required documents.

"These places have been operating illegally for a long time," Mayor 
Russ Blewett said. "State law allows for the collectives, but they 
are not functioning as defined by the law."

Dispensaries quickly closed their doors once the city began its code 
enforcement process, which fined business owners and landlords $1,500 
a day, Blewett said.

"Once we put pressure on the landlords, we saw these businesses close 
one-by-one," Smith said.

"The collective filed a demurrer against the city to outlaw the 
ordinance, but the court turned them down and the landlord was 
allowed to proceed with the eviction," Blewett said. "The court saw 
no validity in their argument, and now they are gone."

Jody Meade, co-owner of All About You salon, said her clients are 
quite tickled that the dispensary has closed.

"We never had any problems with the people that ran the dispensary; 
they've actually been respectful and nice," Meade said. "We have two 
units available, now that Sancho's Tacos and the dispensary are gone."

Meade was surprised at the number of seniors who visited the 
dispensary on a regular basis, and hopes that the city, state and 
business owners will get on the same page with the issue in order to 
help those who legitimately need help.

Residents near the dispensary were outraged after the collective 
opened near a martial arts studio, and within three miles of six 
different schools.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom