DISPENSARY OWNERS WILL CHALLENGE ACTION

City Delivers Cease-And-Desist Order to MediMar

City officials delivered a cease-and-desist order Tuesday to MediMar
Ministries, the only medical marijuana center that has been openly
operating in the city during the past few months, despite a city
moratorium on licensing such businesses.

Tom Sexton, who transferred ownership of MediMar to his wife, Karen
Garnant, said the business at 112 Colorado Ave. would appeal the
city's order but was uncertain Tuesday whether that would be in court
or through the city's zoning board of appeals.

"We've tried to operate a model (medical marijuana) business, working
with the city along the way," Sexton said. "But if the city insists
that this conversation has to take place in court, I guess that's
where we'll have it."

Sexton said he transferred ownership to his wife after being convicted
in district court earlier this summer of possessing marijuana. Pueblo
County Sheriff's deputies had raided his Beulah property and
confiscated marijuana plants that Sexton used for MediMar.

Asked about Tuesday's cease-and-desist order, City Attorney Tom
Florczak said that when MediMar was granted a sales-tax license last
year, city officials were not aware it was for a medical marijuana
business.

That quickly changed when Sexton and other medical marijuana providers
challenged City Council's decision last autumn to impose a moratorium
on licensing medical marijuana centers.

Sexton told council he would respect that moratorium, but that changed
last spring when a Colorado district court ruled against the city of
Centennial, which had tried to impose a ban on a marijuana center
after previously granting it a license. When that decision was
announced, attorneys for MediMar informed The Pueblo Chieftain the
business would resume providing marijuana to patients that had
designated it as a caregiver.

Pueblo police were aware MediMar was back in operation earlier this
year, but both city and county officials were waiting for the
Legislature to determine how those businesses would or could be
regulated. Lawmakers finished work in May, but said state licenses
would not be available until July 2011.

Council is divided over whether to license and regulate marijuana
centers, or ban them in the city. Council will consider an ordinance
July 12 that would put that question to city voters.

Sexton said MediMar has collected and paid $20,000 in city sales tax
this year.

"What really bothers me is that the city is determined to force us out
of this building so that we have to meet our patients in cars and
homes to give them their medication," he said.