PALM SPRINGS PLANS TO SHUTTER EXISTING MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVES

7 Dispensaries Operating In Palm Springs Illegally

With its vote to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries
in the city to two, the Palm Springs City Council on Wednesday
signaled it is done turning a blind eye to the businesses, some of
which have been operating illegally for more than two years.

The 3-2 vote only directed staff to draft the new, more restrictive
ordinance, which City Attorney Doug Holland said would likely go back
to the council in early February. But Holland said Friday he also
will be going to court early next month for injunctions to shut down
all dispensaries in business in the city -- now estimated at seven.

We are in the process of preparing the documents," Holland said.
"We've already sent out letters notifying them they are illegal
operations. We are seeking orders from the court telling every one of
the operations they are to cease operating."

The suits will be filed in Riverside County Civil Court, he said.

The decision to go to court, like the two-collective limit and other
restrictions in the proposed law, caught dispensary owners off guard.

Under the law, dispensaries would have to be organized as nonprofit
collectives or cooperatives, as recommended in the guidelines state
Attorney General Jerry Brown issued in August.

If everybody would close down, a lot of patients would be left to go
nowhere," said Lilly Lazarin, owner of the West Valley Patients
Association, located on Newhall Street in North Palm Springs.

Before going to court, she said, city officials "need to decide what
they're going to do, who's going to be allowed."

Still, Lazarin and other patient advocates gave the council credit
for being the only city in Riverside County to consider allowing any
dispensaries in the city.

Palm Springs wants to go slow," said Lanny Swerdlow, president of the
Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, a patient advocacy group. "I
can't blame them; they don't want to get their fingers burned."

But Stacy Hochanadel, owner of CannaHelp on Industrial Place, said
the two-collective limit could create unintended risks.

That's just going to put a lot of demand on collectives for a lot of
marijuana," Hochanadel said. "That means a lot more cost of initial
startup for those two collectives if we're going to do compliance
with what the attorney general and the city want."

J. David Nick, attorney for the The Holistic Cooperative on Palm
Canyon Way, said any effort to limit the number of collectives in the
city could be illegal.

They cannot deny people the right to have collectives by limiting the
number," Nick said. "They have to be consistent with the Medical
Marijuana Program Act."

That law, commonly called Senate Bill 420, establishes patients'
right to form collectives.

If you're kicking people out, that's not consistent," Nick said.

He hopes to meet with city officials to discuss the ordinance.

In the meantime, city staff are just beginning to look at how they
will set up the licensing process. Officials floated the idea of a
lottery at Wednesday's council meeting, but Holland said Friday that
was unlikely.

There's probably going to be some kind of process very similar to an
RFQ -- Request for Qualifications," Holland said. "They would be
reviewed to determine they are in full compliance with the ordinance
and (state) guidelines.

There would be a qualitative review of the operation, how it blends
into the area how well it serves the needs of Palm Springs
residents," Holland said.

I think it should be look at everyone's track record, who's done
stuff for the community," said Shawn Marley, a volunteer at Community
Caregivers, dispensary on Palm Canyon Drive. "I just hope the city
chooses wisely."