Pot Club's Slow Burning Saga Comes to Close

A medical marijuana collective that has been controversial in the City of Newark since its opening in 2009 has closed up shop.

An attorney representing North Bay Dispensary () Cannabis Collective, which was located at 7180 Thornton Ave, confirmed Friday morning that the tenants have left the building.

“NBD has vacated that site, principally because the landlord received a warning notice from the Federal government and there was no desire to expose the landlord to asset forfeiture,” wrote Jim Roberts, managing partner of Roberts & Elliott LLP, which represents NBD.

While NBD has closed its Newark location, Roberts said the collective “continues to exist and continues to fight for its right to operate.”

The closure of NBD’s Newark location comes five months after authorities raided the location as part of a multi-city raid that resulted in the arrest of NBD owners Bob Uwanawich of Fremont and Teddy Miller of Salinas.

The pair – along with three associates with NBD – are currently facing , including various drug-related crimes, tax evasion and Labor Code violations, according to court documents.

All five of the men charged on Nov. 18 and they are scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 19 at 9 a.m. at the Fremont Hall of Justice for a pre-trial hearing.

Law enforcement personnel have said the men were charged after evidence led authorities and the District Attorney’s Office to believe the medical marijuana dispensary had been operating illegally.

But NBD’s attorneys have maintained that NBD and its operators have acted legally. The attorneys have also said cannabis collectives have the right to sell medical marijuana under Proposition 215, known as the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, and Senate Bill 420.

NBD has clashed with the city of Newark since its opening in 2009. Since then, a handful of lawsuits – both civil and criminal – have been filed and seen in different courts between the two parties.

Most recently, the city of Newark on Nov. 2 in hopes to be issued a court-ordered injunction so the city can enforce the passed by the Newark City Council.