GROUP TRIES NEW ZONING APPROACH FOR RIVERSIDE POT DISPENSARY

As Riverside tries to shut one medical marijuana dispensary within
city limits, another is seeking to open with the city's approval.

But city officials said they don't intend to allow the Greenhouse
Care Group, a collective of about 25 Riverside patients, to run a
dispensary on the east side.

The group has taken a unique tack. The city has said its zoning code
forbids any marijuana dispensaries, so Greenhouse Care Group applied
to change the code, said Katherine Clifton, a San Diego attorney
representing the not-for-profit group.

"This is a big community and a lot of people are not getting the help
they need," Clifton said in an interview last week.

Paperwork provided by Clifton shows the group asked that dispensaries
be permitted in business and manufacturing zones.

The group has already leased a space in a business park on Old 215
Frontage Road, north of March Air Reserve Base. Clifton said it will
have security cameras and a guard, and it will offer members
meditation, yoga and pain management classes. The collective's
members are mainly elderly or disabled, she said.

While Clifton said the group is trying to work with the city so it
can legally open its dispensary, Riverside officials don't seem
likely to go along.

Another facility, the Inland Empire Health and Wellness Center, in
December opened a collective that provides medical marijuana to its
members. Center officials maintain their right to operate is
supported by state law, but the city continues to disagree and in May
sought a court injunction to shut the center's doors. The case is
still pending.

City Attorney Greg Priamos said Greenhouse Care Group's application
for a zoning change to allow medical marijuana dispensaries is the
only such request he's aware of. In April, the city returned
Clifton's application and informed her it would not be processed, he
said.

Because federal law prohibits marijuana use and state law forbids the
city from adopting rules at odds with federal law, Priamos said, "We
don't believe we have the legal authority to amend our zoning code to
permit dispensaries."

But Clifton said last week she is still hoping for a discussion on
the issue in Riverside.

"We could have opened based on state law, but I don't want the threat
of a raid hanging over anyone's head," she said. "This path takes
longer and it's more complex, but if it can lead to a public hearing
I'm all for it."