Pot Club Still Rolling Despite City’s Medicinal Marijuana Ban
CHA Wellness Center was still operating Friday afternoon.
Photos
A ban on pot clubs in Union City hasn’t stopped the Caring Hands Association Wellness Center from operating.
The medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors to the public Jan. 18, despite not having the legal permission to do, according to city staff. The nonprofit collective was still open Friday afternoon.
The City of Union City issued the temporary ban on dispensaries Tuesday night, suspending the approval of business licenses or permits for medical marijuana dispensaries and their operations for 45 days.
City Attorney Benjamin Reyes declined to comment Thursday on what immediate actions would be taken.
CHA’s attorney Derek Longstaff, however, argues that the moratorium can not be used to shut down the dispensary.
“The moratorium can not work retroactively,” Longstaff said Thursday.
He argues that the business is within its legal bounds to operate.
According to Longstaff, CHA's business license was approved September 2010 to distribute "medical remedies."
“They may disagree whether those herbal remedies are potent or have medical values,” he said.
Longstaff, who began representing CHA earlier this month, said it was clearly stated in CHA’s articles of incorporation in 2010 that it intended “to facilitate transactions between medicinal cannabis to qualified patients.”
“The city did not follow through a year and a half ago with what is now their current wish,” Longstaff said. “I don’t have an explanation as to why the city didn’t check the articles of incorporation.”
Reyes says that isn’t true.
“They never had the right to open in Union City to begin with,” Reyes said. “We specifically indicated that they are not to distribute medical marijuana. The uses conflict with federal law.”
The sale, use and distribution of marijuana is illegal under federal law. City regulations require that all businesses in Union City be compliant with federal laws, Reyes said.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, meaning it has "a high potential for abuse (and) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."
While banned federally, cannabis collectives are allowed to distribute medicinal marijuana to seriously ill patients with doctor’s permission under Proposition 215, known as the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
Adding to the legal tangle is a ruling from last November that determined cities could shut down and ban marijuana dispensaries within their local jurisdictions, which is now being reviewed by the California Supreme Court.
Because that case, and several other medical marijuana cases, are under review, there is an “absence of law,” which made it necessary for the city to pass the moratorium, Reyes said.
The ban was established to protect public health, safety and welfare, he said.
According to city staff, other cities have experienced an increase of crime in areas surrounding dispensaries.
Longstaff said that won't be the case with CHA Wellness.
CHA Wellness is a nonprofit collective formed in September 2010 and run by a board of directors, according to Longstaff.
He said there was a split among the board, with some members hiring a marketing group and rushing its opening as Green Cross Care Center on Jan. 6.
According to Longstaff, CHA Wellness is no longer affiliated with Green Cross Care Center and is starting with a clean slate.
“This group (CHA), they want what they have — a fairly low-key operation serving the patients in that community,” Longstaff said.
He said CHA is taking “a more medicinal approach,” whereas the operators of Green Cross were promoting free giveaways of “mega huge burrito size” joints.
Longstaff said he’s been communicating with the city but was not notified of the moratorium being added to the City Council agenda earlier this week.
“I find it a little troubling that the parties most affected by it would not be invited,” Longstaff said.
He doesn’t know what actions the city will take, but said CHA is dedicated to cooperating with the city.
“They’re agreeable to most any reasonable accommodations — about the hours, things of that nature,” Longstaff said. “If there’s something the city needs my client to do to feel less concerned about the so-called health and safety issues, we’ll do what we can to meet them halfway.”
RoLo Torrex
5:10 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
cities can't enforce their own laws anymore. What's the point of having any laws if no one follows them. Where do cities choose which laws to enforce and which to not enforce? At what point does this become discrimination. People who opened up dispensaries did so in defiance of federal law. They are law breakers and should be treated as such, even if they are just issued a ticket, something needs to be done or cities will be left without any power as this will set the president for legal challenges.
Shimadog
7:22 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Come on, Union City, grow a pair and shut 'em down!
Brash Brazen
11:18 am on Saturday, January 28, 2012
Drunken drivers leaving the new Chaplin's Sports Bistro are a greater threat to public health,safety & welfare than having a cannabis dispensary (legal under state law) in Union City. Patients with a doctor's recommendation are entitled to "safe & legal access" to medicinal marijuana under California law. With teachers molesting students,hit & run deaths & unsolved murders you'd think that the city & police would have better things to do with their time than to harass patients & the dispensaries that serve them. The reason cities try to prevent dispensaries from opening is that once open they dispel all the lies & anecdotal nonsence spread by the city & law enforcement. The Rand Corp. did a study in L.A. & found that crime went up in areas where dispensaries were forced to close & withdrew the report under pressure from the sheriff & D.A. There are thousands of cannabis patients in the Tri-City area & hundreds of new patients join their ranks every week. Medicinal marijuana & the dispensaries that provide it are here to stay,the only question is when will our elected officials & their cohorts in law enforcement quit obstructing our rights by refusing to abide by state laws they took an oath to uphold ? State law is clear & municipalities don't enforce federal law only the federal government can do so. Medicinal marijuana dispensaries are the least of Union Cities problems,a controversy of their own making. Tell the Mayor & Council to quit attacking patients & dispensaries !!
Summer Hemphill
12:51 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
The Patch has once again referred to legal medicinal marijuana dispensaries as "pot clubs",this being an obvious editorial decision to demean patients & dispensaries & to confuse readers. The term "pot clubs" is prejudicial.misleading.ill-informed & arbitrary & in no way is an apt description of the services dispensaries provide to patients. While the Patch is supposed to report issues in a non-biased fashion,their dismissive attitude toward medicinal marijuana is quite apparent. It's an abuse of this forum to try to influence the views of the citizens of Union City with a slanted,subtle smear campaign attacking the legitimacy of both the premise of medicinal marijuana & the dispensaries that serve legal patients. These so called journalists certainly recognize their misrepresentation of dispensaries is a carefully crafted policy & undoubtably know better than to try & foist it upon their readers. Is their close knit relationship & access to city leaders & law enforcement the reason they'd want to mislead us in this important matter ? Another dispensary,another controversy,same old crap in the Patch !!! Don't look now,but your prejudice is showing !!!
Cali Norml
9:49 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Contrary to what the public official states here, medical marijuana collectives have not increased crime; in fact, studies and reports show that in neighborhoods where collectives have closed, crime has increased. The commenter is correct in pointing out that alcohol, not marijuana, causes violence, it's news again today http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19853537
Collective owners shouldn't be treated as criminals for doing things above board in compliance with California voters' wishes. And patients shouldn't have to travel long distances to get medicine. What if you had to drive to San Jose to get your aspirin, or Vicodin?
Brash Brazen
12:22 pm on Thursday, February 2, 2012
San Jose has over 100 legal medicinal marijuana dispensaries without any demonstrable adverse effect on the community. When the mayor & city council created a controversy by implementing a regulatory program reducing the number allowed to 10 & adding further unnecessary restrictions,opponents gathered more than enough signatures to put the measure on hold until it could be put before the voters. Now with the state Supreme Court reviewing several lower court decisions & potentially several legalization measures on the November ballot Mayor Chuck Reed has asked that the ordinance be rescinded. Admitting that the city was in over it's head "without some clarification on this unsettled area of the law" & should devote their time to more important issues. Proponents of medicinal marijuana dispensaries had raised over $200.000.00 for the campaign & registered 8,000 new voters. While this battle was being waged San Jose city coffers received $2,900.000.00 in revenue from the 7% tax on medical marijuana sales between March & November. Unless Union Cities mayor & council reverses course & embraces legally operated dispensaries as an asset to their constituents & a potential source of much needed additional revenue for their city they may see San Jose's debacle repeated here !!!