DECISION ON POT SHOPS DELAYED

But Stockton Wins Bid To Close Medical Marijuana Dispensary

STOCKTON - City leaders put off a decision late Tuesday to regulate
medical marijuana dispensaries while forcing another to close its
doors the same day.

Up to three medical marijuana dispensaries would be allowed to do
business in Stockton under regulations considered by the City Council
during a long public hearing in which some 20 lawyers and medical
marijuana supporters spoke.

"I want to as much as possible get this right," Vice Mayor Kathy
Miller said, noting that several speakers brought up valid legal
points that need addressing.

Earlier Tuesday, the city won its bid to force a central Stockton
marijuana dispensary to suspend its operations and pay $40,000 in
fines. The city claimed Pathways Family Health Cooperative Counseling
on East Acacia Street was a scofflaw business when it opened last
fall before the city had figured out how to regulate such operations.

The fall opening of Pathways prompted city leaders to revive the
issue of dispensary rules, which they discussed years ago but dropped.

The proposed regulations would:

- - Initially cap the number of pot dispensaries that can operate in
Stockton at three, with a future limit of one per 100,000 residents
as the city grows.

- - Require dispensaries to obtain a $30,000 operator's permit in
addition to other application fees.

- - Restrict dispensaries to operating at least 300 feet from homes or
religious institutions; 500 feet from transitional housing
facilities; and 1,000 feet from schools, libraries, parks and other
dispensaries.

- - Impose other rules on security, lighting, operations and workers.

Lawyers and advocates, both local and from the Bay Area, filled the
council chambers Tuesday. Some praised the city for its efforts and
asked for minor changes to the proposed rules, while others
criticized the regulations as too restrictive or as giving the Police
Department too much oversight.

Hours before the City Council meeting, a San Joaquin County Superior
Court judge ordered Pathways to close and to pay $40,000 in fines for
violating an earlier order to suspend operations.

Earlier this year, the city won a preliminary injunction against the
dispensary. Pathways appealed and reopened, arguing it should be
allowed to stay open pending its appeal.

But at a contempt hearing Tuesday, Judge Lesley Holland denied the
dispensary's bid. "This is really a refusal to comply with the order," he said.

After the ruling, Pathways director Lynn Smith said he closed shop
immediately. He decried the judgment and said he was evaluating the
store's next legal step.

"It's a shame the city's going to abandon the need of patients that
use medicinal marijuana until they get their ordinance in place and
get another cooperative open that can fill that need," he said. "It's
always been about the patient, and it's still about the patient."

Attorneys arguing for the city Tuesday said that if Pathways applied
for a permit to operate its dispensary under the city's new
ordinance, it likely would not be allowed at the shop's current
location, near a day care facility.