MONTEREY SEEKS COURT ORDER TO CLOSE POT SHOP

Monterey City officials are seeking a permanent court order to shut
down a medical marijuana dispensary that opened last year on
Lighthouse Avenue.

A temporary order was issued in March by Monterey County Superior
Court Judge Robert O'Farrell, in favor of the city, requiring
MyCaregiver Inc. to close after the city sued.

But the dispensary has continued to operate in violation of the order,
according to court papers filed by the city attorney's office Thursday.

Jhonrico Carrnshimba, who is named as a defendant, has said that
MyCaregiver is a nonprofit cooperative and can operate as its members
please, without a city business license.

Carrnshimba was a director of MyCaregiver when it opened. Members of
MyCaregiver have since said that he has stepped down.

City officials have said that on a business license application
submitted by Carrnshimba, who also goes by the name Jhonrico Carr, the
true nature of MyCaregiver's operations were not disclosed.

Under the city's rules, nonprofits are required to have businesses
licenses but are exempt from paying licensing fees once the nonprofit
status is verified.

In January, the city council approved a moratorium on the
establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Staff
members were directed to draft proposed regulations for dispensaries
that could allow them or ban them.

A court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8, in the matter of the
permanent injunction.