greenfriend
ganja farmer
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WALNUT CREEK Last summer, when Walnut Creek city leaders realized a medical marijuana dispensary had popped up in the city, they tried to weed it out. They ordered it to close. They fined it $500 every day it was open all to no effect.Now a judge has ordered the C3 Collective dispensary, at 1291 Oakland Blvd. on downtown's west edge, to shut its doors by March 23.When C3 opened in August it did so illegally, in violation of Walnut Creek's zoning laws, city leaders said. They say this has not been a campaign against medical marijuana."There are numerous other sources of medical marijuana in this county and other nearby counties. "... There are also delivery services that come to Walnut Creek," said Bryan Wenter, assistant city attorney. "Our view is there is no denial of access to medical marijuana. This is a land use matter."Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barry Baskin granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday afternoon to close C3, the city's first nonprofit storefront dispensary. If it does not close, as ordered, it could face contempt-of-court charges.Dispensary organizers have said in the past they have not violated any laws because medical marijuana is legal in California, and that the city is denying patients their medicine.In the fall, the city began fining the dispensary $500 a day each day it was found open; the bill stands at $60,000. City attorneys filed a lawsuit in September --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Advertisement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------against C3 and its chief executive officer, Brian Hyman. The preliminary injunction is the first step in getting a permanent injunction, pending the outcome of the lawsuit, with the goal of closing the dispensary for good.Baskin wrote in his ruling that the city is likely to prevail in its theory that the "operation of a medical marijuana dispensary is not an expressly permitted use under the City of Walnut Creek's zoning code." Further, Baskin said the dispensary failed "to demonstrate a risk of grave or irreparable harm" in its claims that patients of the collective would be hurt.Baskin issued his tentative ruling Wednesday granting the injunction. C3 could have challenged the ruling, and the judge would then have heard arguments at a hearing Thursday. But C3 representatives notified Walnut Creek after the required 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline for contesting the ruling. By missing that deadline, Wenter said, the injunction stands. Neither Hyman nor lawyers for C3 returned calls seeking comment. A few days ago, C3 leaders posted their thoughts about the city's case against them on the collective's blog. "C3 will not rest until the government of Walnut Creek stands in support of our suffering patients and allows them safe access to the medicine they need," read a statement on the C3 site.Cities in Southern California have used the courts to shut down dispensaries, Wenter said. Locally, Alameda imposed a moratorium on pot dispensaries after it yanked the business license of a dispensary last year. Alameda leaders said dispensary owners misled them about what type of retail shop they were opening.Conversely, Berkeley city law allows medical marijuana dispensaries to skirt zoning rules and set up shop anywhere in the city without a public hearing. Staff writers Peter Hegarty and Doug Oakley contributed to this story.
