TORRANCE TO CLOSE MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY

Public's health and safety is cited in the action against the Green
Cross on Hawthorne Boulevard. The business can protest the decision
before License Review Board.

The city of Torrance has revoked the business license of a
controversial medical marijuana dispensary, officials said Wednesday.

Less than two weeks after federal agents raided the Green Cross of
Torrance, the Hawthorne Boulevard co-op was notified shortly after 5
p.m. Tuesday that it no longer had permission to operate locally.

The decision was made after Police Chief John Neu declared the
establishment a detriment to public health and safety.

"Essentially, it was done based on the belief that there was criminal
activity occurring at the location," Torrance police Lt. Rod Irvine
said.

A mandatory hearing before Torrance's License Review Board is set for
this morning. The dispensary can either accept the ruling, argue
against it, or ask for a continuance.

"While we have the right to shut them down without a hearing, we have
to provide a hearing within 48 hours, and that's what this is,"
Assistant City Attorney Ron Pohl said. "It's their opportunity to show
cause why (the license) should not be revoked."

Green Cross Director Rafael Chavez told the Daily Breeze in July that
his facility had more than 600 members and generally served 20 to 30
"patients" a day. All of them, he said, were required to produce
documentation from their doctors.

More recently, however, federal investigators have accused Green Cross
of selling pot to buyers without medical problems.

Reached for comment Wednesday, Chavez declined to say if he planned to
fight the revocation.

"I don't really have a comment right now," he said. "We'll see what
happens."

Proposition 215, which was endorsed by state voters in 1996, allows
physicians in California to recommend marijuana to patients suffering
from ailments such as cancer, anorexia, AIDS, glaucoma and chronic
pain.

At the same time, cannabis has no medicinal value in the eyes of the
federal government, which just says "no" to growing, possessing or
using the drug.

With conflicting statutes, Green Cross began operating from behind a
reflective storefront at 22926 Hawthorne Blvd. on April 20. Very
quickly, the place attracted the attention of local officials.

In August, the City Council voted unanimously to deny business
licenses to co-ops and other establishments inconsistent with federal
law. The action did not affect Green Cross's existing license, which
was set to expire at the end of the year.

At that time, Chavez said he had no idea what would happen next or
whether his license would be revoked early.

By Oct. 19, however, he was facing more serious problems, as federal
agents raided his dispensary and seized roughly 70 pounds of pot,
nearly 100 marijuana plants, a shotgun and a small amount of cash.

According to a Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit,
investigators suspected that Chavez and his brother, Edward Chavez,
were illegally selling marijuana to customers with no medical need for
it.

Green Cross reopened after the raid and continued to operate until
police arrived Tuesday evening.