MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY DEFIES WINDSOR MORATORIUM

WINDSOR -- This town may have passed a moratorium on most medical
marijuana operations, but one dispensary owner plans to stay open,
defying town officials.

Medigrow, 1292 Main St., officially opened for business Dec. 11.
Medigrow was left off the list of businesses that could continue to
operate when the town board passed the moratorium on Dec. 16.

Medigrow did not close, and it won't close, said Gary Burke, a
consultant to Medigrow's owner, Lazarus Pino.

Medigrow could face thousands of dollars in fines.

Windsor Police Chief John Michaels said his officers have been citing
Medigrow with an ordinance violation each day since Dec. 17.

Each of those citations carries with it a date for an appearance in
Windsor Municipal Court. If a judge finds Medigrow in violation, the
owners face up to a $293 fine plus a $7 surcharge for every day the
business was open.

But Burke said this is not about defying the town, it's about
Medigrow's owners being denied due process under the law.

"I have never seen a situation where all the paperwork is submitted
before a deadline and it is not processed," Burke said.

At the Dec. 16 meeting, town board members voted to allow In Harmony
Wellness, 4630 Royal Vista Circle, and A New Dawn Wellness Clinic,
520 Main St., to remain open during the moratorium. They said
Medigrow was not supposed to be open because its final inspection was
not completed.

Burke believes Medigrow should have been allowed to stay
open.

"This has nothing to do with selling medical marijuana," Burke said.
"This is only about an ordinance we are not in violation of."