Pubdate: Thu, 09 May 2013
Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA)
Copyright: 2013 The Desert Sun
Contact: http://local2.thedesertsun.com/mailer/opinionwrap.php
Website: http://www.mydesert.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112
Note: Does not accept LTEs from outside circulation area.
Authors: Xochitl Pena and Blake Herzog

HAZY COLITAS CLOSES AFTER CALIFORNIA MARIJUANA RULING

Thousand Palms Dispensary Shuttered; C.C.O.C. in Palm Springs May 
Also Close, Director Says

Marijuana dispensary operators and patients are already starting to 
feel the effects of the state Supreme Court ruling Monday that 
determined cities and counties have the right to ban medical 
marijuana dispensaries from operating in their jurisdictions.

On Wednesday, Leonard Ozar, the owner of Thousand Palms marijuana 
dispensary Hazy Colitas, closed his shop on the advice of his 
attorney - before Riverside County sheriff's deputies did it for him.

"The county indicated if I wasn't closed by tomorrow, they would come 
and close it for me," he said.

In Palm Springs, Mike Smith, director of C.C.O.C. on Oleander Road, 
fears he will eventually have to close his doors as well.

"We've been here for over four years with no incidents or nothing. I 
know there's going to be a lot of saddened people," he said.

Monday's ruling came after years of fighting between dispensary 
operators, who believed they had the right to operate, and cities and 
counties, which argued they could ban such businesses.

The Compassionate Use Act approved in 1996 authorizes the dispensing 
of marijuana to people with a doctor's permission. It does not, 
however, address the methods of dispensing.

Palm Springs is the only city in Riverside County that allows 
dispensaries, but it limits the number of city-approved permits to 
three. Plans to allow a fourth are on hold.

The city has already shut down 12 illegal operations and will 
continue to work on closing five dispensaries still operating without 
proper permits, said Palm Springs City Attorney Doug Holland on Monday.

Ray Smith, spokesman for Riverside County, on Wednesday said 
officials' enforcement efforts have closed down 48 medical marijuana 
dispensaries in unincorporated areas during the past three years or so.

The county still has outstanding litigation against 10 dispensaries, 
and officials know of 18 currently operating within its jurisdiction. 
"And we will continue enforcement actions against them," he said.

"It looks like this is the end of the road," said Smith, whose Palm 
Springs dispensary - which does not have a city-approved permit - was 
still open Wednesday.

"I've got 20 employees that are going to be without jobs. Where does 
that leave them?" he asked.

Smith serves about 4,000 patients and is worried that many of them 
will resort to purchasing marijuana "on the street" rather than buy 
from one of the three permitted dispensaries.

Meagan Hogg, 21, a Cathedral City resident who goes to C.C.O.C for 
medical marijuana to cope with her ovarian cyst, doesn't want to 
think about its possible closure.

"There's a lot of shops out there that don't care. They are friends 
and make you want to come here. It's disturbing the thought that they 
may close down," she said of C.C.O.C.

Ozar said he has similar concerns for his 3,000, mostly elderly, clients.

He doesn't believe that the three permitted dispensaries in Palm 
Springs will be able to handle all the medical marijuana patients in 
the valley.

"It's not about the money. It's always been about helping people the 
same way I was helped when I was sick," he said.

He opened the dispensary two years ago after battling bladder cancer 
and used medical marijuana to help cope with his chemotherapy symptoms.

"I can't imagine what my life would be without it," Ozar said.

As of Wednesday a newer dispensary, The Boutique, was still open for 
business in Palm Desert, in a small complex on Alessandro Drive east 
of Portola Avenue.

Derek Sanchez, one of The Boutique's owners, said the dispensary 
opened about a month ago and already has about 3,000 patients in its database.

"We knew there was going to be a (court) decision, but we were hoping 
it would go the other way," he said.

In the meantime, he said the dispensary filed an application with the 
city for a business permit, and the office suite was inspected by the 
fire marshal and city code enforcement officers, with no indication 
of any immediate problems.

Sanchez said he was waiting for official word from Palm Desert on 
whether The Boutique can remain, as he's gotten no written 
notification the application for a permit has been accepted or denied.

"If the city doesn't give us that and says they want to shut down, 
we'll shut down. We'll shut down without a fight. We're not going to 
give the city a hassle," he said. "We just want a timeline, to give 
us time to notify people that they won't be able to get their 
medicine anymore," he said.

Palm Desert Community Development Director Lauri Alyaian said code 
enforcement officers issued the dispensary a notice of violation on 
April 24, emailing a copy to The Desert Sun.

Because the city does not allow medical marijuana dispensaries, the 
notice said, "You are hereby ordered to cease all such business 
activity immediately. Failure to comply will result in enforcement action."

The notice does not contain a deadline by which The Boutique should comply.

Regardless, Sanchez said the Supreme Court decision will have a huge 
impact on medical marijuana patients. Without easy access to 
dispensaries, he said.

"This is going to create big issues in the community. I guess 
everybody that needs it is going to go back to drug dealers."

The high court's decision, while clarifying local government bans on 
dispensaries, hasn't cleared up every question regarding who can operate where.

Medical marijuana delivery services are not directly addressed in the 
44-page opinion, though it does indicate cities are within their 
rights to outlaw medical marijuana collectives, whether or not they 
operate a storefront dispensary.

Steve Quintanilla, who is the city attorney for Rancho Mirage and 
Desert Hot Springs and a deputy attorney for Cathedral City, said the 
latter two cities have also banned delivery services, while Rancho 
Mirage allows them.

However, that city's novel offer to subsidize transportation costs 
for residents who had a medical marijuana ID card and needed to get 
to another city expired after six months, Quintanilla said, with no 
one taking the city up on the offer.

Robert Dominguez, who owns Green Peace Deliveries in Palm Springs, 
said Wednesday that he's unsure just how the Supreme Court's decision 
will affect him. If mobile services continue to operate, his business 
could get a boost if most brick-and-mortar outlets are shut down.

And he agrees cities should have the right to decide whether 
storefront dispensaries can operate. "I'm from Colorado, so I've seen 
what streets can look like if there's one after another after 
another, and it doesn't look all that nice," he said.

Colorado voters approved medical marijuana use in 2000, and this past 
November that state became one of the first two states to legalize 
recreational use, also through a public vote.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom