Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jun 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Joseph Pimentel

JUDGE PUTS STOP TO SANTA ANA'S POT SHOP PLAN

A judge has put a temporary halt on the city of Santa Ana's plan to 
move forward with Orange County's first legal medical marijuana pot 
dispensaries.

Tarune Dillon, John Mendoza, and Ivan Nathanson, who want to open a 
medical marijuana business in Santa Ana, contended in a lawsuit filed 
in Orange County Superior Court that a lottery held in February to 
select businesses to operate the dispensaries was unfair.

The three, who were not among the lottery winners, said in the suit 
that some of the more than 630 people who applied and paid a 
non-refundable $1,690 to participate in the lottery did not qualify.

They said applicants circumvented the city's guidelines by forming 
businesses after a certain deadline or "stuffing the ballot" - 
turning in multiple applications to increase their odds of winning a spot.

Arthur Travieso, the trio's attorney, said in an interview Saturday 
that removing any unqualified applicants from the lottery could have 
given his clients a better chance.

The suit called the lottery "illegal and fraudulent." The three 
individuals are seeking a new selection process.

Orange County Superior Court Judge David Chaffee on June 2 granted a 
temporary restraining order against the city of Santa Ana. A hearing 
on whether to grant a preliminary injunction in the case, which would 
further restrain the dispensaries from moving forward, is slated for Friday.

Neither Mayor Miguel Pulido nor Patrick Bobko, the attorney 
representing Santa Ana, could be reached for comment Saturday.

Several lawsuits were filed against the city after the passage in 
November of Measure BB, which lets the city grant businesses licenses 
to operate the dispensaries.

The lottery collected more than $1 million in revenue from the 
630-plus applicants.

The Santa Ana Police Department is vetting the 20 entrepreneurs who 
were selected in the lottery, one of whom was Louis Freese, or 
B-Real, of rap group Cypress Hill.

The police will ultimately decide whether to grant the permit.

The business owner had to pay a non-refundable $12,086 application 
fee for a regulatory safety permit, the second phase of the permitting process.

Measure BB imposes at least a 5 percent tax and requires dispensaries 
to operate within two industrial zones, have a 500-foot separation 
between competing businesses, and be located 1,000-feet from schools, 
parks and residential areas.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom