MEDICAL MARIJUANA CAREGIVER SEEKS RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST CITY

A medical marijuana caregiver has filed a petition for a temporary
restraining order against the city of Billings in an effort to prevent
the city from enacting a possible retroactive ban on marijuana-based
businesses within 1,000 feet of school zones.

William "Mort" Reid, who owns Canni-Rx Caregivers on the 1200 block of
Avenue C, filed the injunction in Yellowstone County's 13th Judicial
District Court against the city on Friday. It also includes a request
for a hearing on the suit.

According to the petition, Reid is a licensed medical-marijuana
caregiver and registered his company with the state on March 24.

He said he is concerned that the City Council, which placed a
moratorium on new medical-marijuana businesses last month so they
could discuss how to regulate them, could enact a retroactive ban on
such businesses near schools.

"Any time the zoning commission has passed a law, after the fact
they've always grandfathered in the existing businesses," Reid said.
If a retroactive ban goes into place, it could kill his business and
force him to break written contracts with his patients, the petition
said.

In late May, the city's medical-marijuana ad hoc committee was
presented with a draft of an ordinance and several options for zoning
the businesses. If approved, that ordinance would ban them within
1,000 feet of residential businesses, churches, schools, cemeteries,
day cares and other public and government locations.

Reid operates his business legally and in accordance with state law
and there were no zoning ordinances regarding medical-marijuana when
he was issued his business license, the petition said.

"The City has taken action that threatens to close down a lawful
business through an ex post facto application of a regulation that is
not yet in place," the petition reads. "This would cause Mr. Reid to
be in immediate breach of contract, deny his patients of their supply
of medicinal marijuana, and create financial hardship to both business
and patients."

The petition also questions the legality of an alleged May 20 visit to
Reid's business by a Code Enforcement officer and a Billings Police
officer. It says that the Code Enforcement officer asked the business'
secretary to show him the patient registration cards because he wanted
to make sure the business was operating properly, something described
as "quasi-legal" by Reid's attorney, Brandon C. Hartford.

"It seems to me at this point that he's got a legitimate operation,"
Hartford said.

City Attorney Brent Brooks said city officials plan to meet with
Hartford on Friday to further discuss and clarify the petition. He
said that because the moratorium doesn't apply to Reid's business and
no zoning regulations have been set, they need more
information.

"It appears that he is seeking prospective relief," Brooks said.
"We're hoping to sit down and work out what it really is that they're
concerned about."

He said the city had not been notified of a hearing date as of late
Thursday afternoon.