MORE MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES CROP UP IN LA PUENTE

LA PUENTE - Though the city has vowed to push out all of its medical
marijuana dispensaries, seven are now open in La Puente, according to
a city report.

Last month, only four were open, but three others have set up shop
while city attorneys work on an ordinance to ban the shops.

Seven dispensaries is "excessive" and too much for a 3.5 square-mile
city, Mayor David Argudo said.

One dispensary, Trinity Wellness Center at 15747 Amar Road, is
handing out flyers and telling customers to attend a city Planning
Commission meeting on May 10 to oppose the ban.

"We still want to be here," said Gina Howells, one of the board
members that runs THC2 Cooperative at 15416 Francisquito Avenue. "All
we've had is positive feedback from the (people in the) city."

On Jan. 13, La Puente, a city of nearly 42,000, approved a limit of
six dispensaries. But twelve businesses applied for licenses before
the ordinance took effect in February.

"Unfortunately, we ended up with more than we intended to have
originally," Argudo said.

But after residents complained, the City Council on Feb. 24 directed
its attorneys to return with an ordinance banning the dispensaries.
City officials said they expected to have the ordinance done in 45
days, which passed April 8.

Attorney James Casso, who is handling the issue for the city, said
the ordinance is not yet complete.

The Planning Commission, which would consider the ban first, is
scheduled to hear a resolution recommending the adoption of the
ordinance on May 10, Casso said.

It will be a special meeting because the regularly scheduled meeting
on May 4 will be cancelled, he said.

The meeting had to be rescheduled because its time wasn't posted in
time, city officials said.

Along with the seven dispensaries, two others have business licenses
but aren't yet operating.

Councilmen Dan Holloway and John Solis, who first proposed the idea
of banning the dispensaries at the Feb. 23 council meeting, did not
return calls for comment.

Since its opening on Feb. 15, THC2 Cooperative has been busy, Howells said.

Nearly 100 people come to the shop daily, with the "majority" from La
Puente, she said.

The dispensary is one of the first to apply to open in the city, and
Howell said she did "everything by the book."

"I am really scared because we put a lot of money in this," Howells said.

She said she pays $11,000 in sales tax each month, about $1,100 of
which goes to the city.

Tom Noice, who co-owns Today's Holistic Collective at 1359 Hacienda
Boulevard, said the city's changing stance has been frustrating.

"Personally, I think the city is biting off more than it can chew," he said.

Noice said he has poured nearly $30,000 in improvements to the shop
in order to follow the city's rules. They have been open since
February 5 and have registered 1,600 customers, he said.

The shop generates taxes, employs 10 people and has drawn customers
to the shopping center and nearby stores, he said.

He and other dispensaries will likely fight any move by the city to
ban them, Noice said.

"This is typical government," he said. "That they didn't think
everything through when they did it."