CORTE MADERA FILES LAWSUIT TO SHUT DOWN POT CLUB

Corte Madera has filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down one of two
medical marijuana dispensaries operating at a Tamal Plaza office complex.

In the complaint filed in Marin County Superior Court on Friday, Corte
Madera Town Attorney Jeffrey Walter requested preliminary and
permanent injunctions to stop Marin Holistic Solutions from storing,
cultivating or distributing medical marijuana. The lawsuit also names
landlord Francisco Properties as a defendant.

"The subject property is located in the 'light industrial' zoning
district as specified in the town's zoning code," the complaint
stated. "Medical marijuana collectives and dispensaries and/or the
sale of marijuana for any purpose are not listed as a permitted or
conditionally permitted use in said zoning district."

The complaint also accused Marin Holistic of breaking Corte Madera's
municipal code, which bars any property use that violates federal or
state law.

In addition, the document called Marin Holistic's business license
application, which described the establishment as "headquarters for a
holistic remedies corporation," incomplete and misleading.

"A medical marijuana dispensary in violation of a zoning code is in
violation of the town's laws, and as a result, it's operating
illegally," Assistant Town Attorney John Abaci said. "As a public
nuisance, the town is seeking that the dispensary be abated and be
prohibited from continuing to operate."

On Monday attorneys for both sides appeared before a judge, who set a
preliminary injunction hearing date for Sept. 30.

"We have several options available to us, and I need to talk to my
clients," said Scot Candell, the attorney representing Marin Holistic.

Marin Holistic and Going Green dispensaries opened last year in an
office complex on Tamal Vista Boulevard. Officials at the dispensaries
say they only serve patients over 18 with medical marijuana cards, but
parents have complained about their location near Redwood High School,
which is about a half mile away.

In May the town's Planning Commission began considering an ordinance
regulating medical marijuana dispensaries that would have allowed the
existing clubs to apply for licensing. However, the Town Council voted
4-0 during a June 1 closed-session discussion to authorize
cease-and-desist letters that warned the clubs to stop operating by
June 25, Walter said.

Walter did not name Going Green as a defendant in the lawsuit filed
Friday.

"My understanding is they are undergoing eviction proceedings, so we
would anticipate that they would be evicted by the landlord," Abaci
said.

Going Green owner Kim Pelham said her landlord hasn't evicted the
business but did informally request that she start looking for another
space because he doesn't want the town to sue him.

"He doesn't want to be put in the middle of it," Pelham said. "I can
understand it. I certainly don't want to put my landlord in a position
where he's uncomfortable."

Pelham added that she is looking for other spaces to lease because "I
really don't want to abandon our patients here."

Laurie Dubin, a Larkspur resident who has been a vocal opponent of the
two clubs, applauded the Corte Madera lawsuit.

"I find it more than a coincidence that the most recently opened
dispensaries are either right as close as they could possibly be to a
high school or right across from College of Marin," said Dubin, whose
son attends Redwood.

Dubin added that she supports medical marijuana "but not necessarily
through dispensaries."

"There should be safe access to medical marijuana to legitimate
patients in medical establishments or in pharmacies," she said.

But Barbara Summers, a 63-year-old Mill Valley resident who uses
medical marijuana for her sciatica, anxiety and sleep problems, said
she depends on Marin Holistic to supply her with edible pot products.

"They're so professional," Summers said. "It feels like where you're
supposed to go to get this, whereas some of the other places in San
Francisco and Sausalito felt very seedy."

Summers also uses heavy pain medications but was able to reduce the
dose after adding medical marijuana about seven years ago.

"I'm experiencing some kind of pain most of the time," she said. "(The
marijuana) definitely deadens it out. It makes me be able to walk. It
makes me be able to go to a store and do a couple of aisles."

Summers noted that her son graduated from Redwood High in 1995 and her
two stepchildren attended Tamalpais High.

"I do understand parents' concerns," she said. "I would not have
wanted my kids to smoke pot in high school. From what I've read, these
kids (today) are going for the stuff like OxyContin. Marijuana, for
them-it's like nothing."