NORCO TAKES AIM AT ROLLING POT JOINT

A Court Injunction Is Sought Against the Collective-on-Wheels
Marijuana Dispensary

Riverside County businessman Stewart Hauptman's latest venture gives
new meaning to the term "recreational drugs": selling medical
marijuana from a souped-up RV parked outside a Norco clinic.

He refurbished the motor home, installing display cases, several
seats and other amenities. The Lakeview Collective-on-Wheels operated
from a lot outside a clinic where people were being evaluated for
medical marijuana use.

"That way, when patients come out of the clinic, they are able to get
the medicine right away," said Hauptman, a
videographer-turned-cannabis-entrepreneur.

But the city of 27,000, which bans the distribution of marijuana,
went to court last week seeking an injunction to shut down Hauptman's
business, which has been cited several times since it opened in October.

"We'll take whatever proper legal action is needed to get them to
cease," said John Harper, an attorney representing the city.

Hauptman and his wife, Helen, said they are being persecuted for
trying to provide a humanitarian service. Most of their clients are
elderly, many confined to wheelchairs and using walkers, they said.

"These are not young kids who go out and get stoned; this is not
about that," Hauptman said. "These are older people, some dying from cancer."

But Norco officials say the couple's portrayal of their clientele
does not match police observations.

"We've seen people, generally speaking, between the ages of 18 and 25
who appear to be in good health lined up outside there to buy
marijuana," Harper said.

A landmark 1996 voter initiative legalized marijuana for medical use
in California, but the question of whether cities are legally
entitled to ban distribution is pending before state appeals courts.
Medical marijuana advocates say state law allows cities to regulate
the trade but not ban it. Officials from Norco and other cities say
local governments may outlaw dispensaries.

A hearing on whether to permanently shut down the Hauptmans' business
is scheduled for June 1 in Riverside County Superior Court.

The Hauptmans said their business is legal -- and essential. It
features marijuana-laced brownies, cookies, pretzels and other items
that cost about $10 a serving. Marijuana sells for about $450 an
ounce. But official pressure has forced the mobile cannabis store to
shut down for now, the couple said.

The Hauptmans are now delivering marijuana to clients' homes, but not
with the RV.

"We're using a truck," Helen Hauptman said.