AGOURA HILLS MARIJUANA DISPENSARY CLOSED

Some Believe Copier Business Was A Front

The Conejo Wellness Center, a medical marijuana dispensary in Agoura
Hills, has agreed to vacate the Agoura Road office building by Oct.
23. A settlement agreement was reached between the owners of the
building and Richard Tavolieri, the alleged owner of the marijuana
cooperative.

All Brand Copiers and the Conejo Wellness Center are listed at the
same address-29399 Agoura Road, Ste. 112.

Tavolieri denied all allegations in the complaint, according to
Gerard Dougherty, owner of Dougherty & Landon, APC, the Westlake
Village law firm that represented the office building owners in the
case. But Tavolieri agreed to the terms of the settlement.

Other tenants of the building believe Tavolieri has used All Brand
Copiers as a front for the Conejo Wellness Center since March.

The lease was issued to All Brand Copiers, Dougherty said. The sale
of marijuana at the location violated the terms of the lease.

A court date was scheduled for Sept. 14 at Van Nuys Superior Court,
but the settlement was reached before the parties met with a judge.

Tavolieri was not available for comment.

Medicinal marijuana distribution in a commercial building is not
permitted by the Agoura Hills municipal code.

One tenant, who didn't want his name revealed, said about 300 people
visit the copier business each week, but he said they leave with
their marijuana prescriptions filled.

The tenant said other people in the building have seen teenagers
leave the dispensary and distribute pot to teens waiting outside.

Medical marijuana is legal in California and several other states.
This year marks the 10year anniversary of the passage of Proposition
215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Every city in
the state, however, has the right to allow or disallow such
business, said Dougherty.

While the law was initially proposed to allow seriously ill
Californians the right to possess and use marijuana to ease pain
from such conditions as AIDS, multiple sclerosis and cancer, it was
expanded to allow doctors to prescribe the substance for headaches,
nausea, anxiety and other more common ailments.

Dougherty said if Tavolieri doesn't vacate his business by the
designated date, a sheriff will evict him.