SANTA BARBARA STRUGGLES WITH MEDICINAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY DEBATE

Despite the failure of Measure T in November and a recent court ruling
in favor of a Milpas marijuana dispensary, the Santa Barbara City
Council on Tuesday avoided any radical changes in its medical
marijuana policy.

Tuesday, the ordinance subcommittee, composed of council members Frank
Hotchkiss, Grant House, and Harwood "Bendy" White, voted to amend the
ordinance to only exempt the two dispensaries that were pursuing legal
action against City Hall.

Federal court judge Dean Pregerson ruled that the city could not shut
down the Green Well dispensary at 500 Milpas Street until their case
against the city is settled. The dispensary received a permit under
the city's 2008 ordinance.

However, in June 2010, the city adopted a new ordinance that capped
the number of dispensaries at three, required them to be dispersed
throughout the city, and extended the minimum distance from schools
from 500 feet to 600.

The Green Well, located 532 feet from Santa Barbara Junior High, could
not operate legally. The city gave them six months to close the
business down. Instead, the business sued, arguing that they had made
a substantial investment in their shop and the city couldn't close
them down.

Though not issuing a final ruling, Pregerson agreed, noting that
letting the six month grace period stand would violate Green Well's
due process, closing them down before they had their day in court.

"Plaintiff is faced with either a violation of its constitutional
rights or the loss of its business," Pregerson wrote. "The Ninth
Circuit has held that such stark circumstances constitute irreparable
harm."

City Attorney Steve Wiley said that the judge granting the plaintiffs
an injunction on the shut down indicates that a final ruling in favor
of the city was unlikely.

"One of the tests is does the judge see if the plaintiff is likely to
prevail," Wiley said. "In this case the judge does feel the dispensary
at 500 North Milpas is likely to prevail."

The judge's ruling is only likely to hold for dispensaries that were
in compliance with the previous ordinance and doesn't make any broader
claims about the city's authority to regulate dispensaries.

Wiley recommended that the council amend the ordinance to exempt shops
that were operating under the 2008 ordinance. There would only be two
shops affected by this, the Green Well, and the Green Light at 631
Olive Street, which found itself in a similar situation.

"So long as they comply with the operational requirements, they would
be grandfathered in indefinitely," Wiley said.

This could give the city 5 medical marijuana dispensaries. However, by
the original ordinance, a permit holder cannot transfer ownership to a
second party. If an operator of one of the exempted dispensaries chose
to leave the business, it could not receive a new permit without being
compliant with the 2010 changes.

Wiley did mention the failure of Measure T, which would have banned
dispensaries in the city, but left the implication of that failure up
to the council.

"I could see the city ending up with a very limited number of
dispensaries," Wiley said. "Nothing will allow these people to operate
these things in any way but in full compliance with the state law,"

The committee didn't mention Measure T, and instead clarified what the
language meant for the city.

A third dispensary is challenging the city's authority, the Compassion
Center at 2915 De La Vina Street. Their permit was denied earlier in
the year and they are appealing the decision. Unlike the other two
dispensaries, the Compassion Center is accused of closing shop for
more than 30 days and improperly storing its drugs, resulting in the
theft of 50 pounds of marijuana.

House proposed amending the language to give the Compassion Center
time for its appeal in February. But Wiley didn't believe its appeal
would go through, going so far as to say the committee shouldn't worry
about liability on the city's part.

So for now, the status quo of marijuana shops in Santa Barbara
remains. The exempted shops will stay until they're gone, and the city
still caps the numbers.

The three approved shops are the Santa Barbara Patients' Collective
Health Cooperative, the Green Light Dispensary, and Pacific Coast
Collective.