JUDGE UPHOLDS MORATORIUM TEMPORARILY CLOSING MONTEREY MEDICAL POT DISPENSARY

A judge on Friday effectively shut down any continuing operation of
Monterey's MyCaregiver medicinal-marijuana cooperative, ruling that
the city's temporary moratorium on dispensaries was legitimate.

Judge Lydia Villarreal did not rule on issues regarding whether the
city had zoning for dispensaries or whether MyCaregiver was required
to have a business license, but granted the city's request for summary
judgment based on its moratorium.

Defense attorneys Jeanine Strong and Richard Rosen said they will
appeal the ruling. They continue to maintain MyCaregiver meets state
guidelines as a nonprofit, medicinal-marijuana cooperative and,
therefore, does not require a business license.

City Attorney Deborah Mall said the Monterey City Council will take up
the issue again Oct. 18 and decide if it wants to extend the
moratorium or send a draft ordinance to the Planning Commission that
would allow a limited number of medicinal-marijuana facilities in town.

"These people could apply for the one legal operation, rather than to
continue" the lawsuit, she said, referring to the handful of
MyCaregiver directors who were present for the hearing.

If given the chance, Rosen said, it is possible his clients will do
that. The larger issue, he said, is that Monterey and the entire
county have failed to accommodate medicinal-marijuana laws passed 14
years ago.

"All we know, is the city has had 14 years to deal with this and they
ignored it. The city is not acting in good faith. In fact, the whole
county is not acting in good faith," he said. "We're not going to give
up and we are not going to go away."

By enacting the moratorium, Strong said, the city conceded
MyCaregiver's services were a legal use. The issue now is only whether
the city writes related zoning codes and whether the co-op requires a
business license.

"If the city enacts a zoning law, that would dissolve the moratorium
and end any basis for the injunction," Rosen said. "So, we hope they
do that as soon as possible."

The city sued MyCaregiver and co-founder Jhonrico Carr-Nshimba in
February saying the Lighthouse Avenue operation violated the city's
zoning laws, which do not accommodate medicinal-marijuana facilities.

Assistant City Attorney Christine Davi said uses that are not codified
are considered barred and MyCaregiver did not use a standard appeal
process, a fact that Villarreal homed in on Friday.

Judge Robert O'Farrell earlier granted a temporary injunction against
the operation, agreeing with Davi that Carr-Nshimba was not forthright
on his business license application when he described the operation as
a "Health Care Cooperative/Individual & Family Services."

Davi said Carr-Nshimba told the city he would be distributing herbal
remedies and health-related DVDs.

Strong argued Friday that the operation is a nonprofit member-only
cooperative that under state law and city code does not require a
business license.

A trial remains set for Nov. 22 on the license and zoning issues. In
the meantime, Rosen and Strong said they would appeal Villarreal's
ruling.