SPRINGS POT CLINIC VANISHES

A lot of smoke led to little fire as Alikchi Wellness, the medical
marijuana dispensary in Boyes Hot Springs, vaporized this week as
quickly as it materialized.

The dispensary began advertising with a hand-drawn sign in December,
after operators signed a six-month lease at 17503 Sonoma Highway, but
went largely unnoticed until county officials were notified of its
presence just after Christmas. Alikchi Wellness operator Kim Pelham
said the dispensary never officially opened for business, and that
the sign was to notify potential patients of her plans to operate in
the Springs.

"We're not even opened at all. We've never been open - the door has
always been locked. I don't see what the big deal is," she said on
Thursday, adding that for the past few weeks she and her business
partners were sprucing up the location after years of neglect.

Nonetheless, had it opened, the dispensary would have violated
several conditions of a county ordinance by being within 1,000 feet
of a school or youth organization, since it was located across the
street from the Valley of the Moon Teen Center and around the corner
from Flowery Elementary School, and was operating without a permit.
But the operators canceled their lease before the county could
address the code violations.

"The operators said they have no more intention of opening at that
location," Ben Neuman, Sonoma County Code Enforcement manager, told
the Index-Tribune Thursday.

Neuman said before Alikchi Wellness shut down, his department made
repeated attempts this week to contact the operators and notify them
that the business was in violation of the county's ordinance on
medical marijuana dispensaries. But according to protocol, the county
first had to verify that the business was in fact operating as a
medical marijuana dispensary, thus confirming it was actually
violating the ordinance.

"The advertisement of an unlawful use is not unlawful," Neuman said,
explaining that although the location advertised itself as a
dispensary, county officials had to personally witness that it was
actually operating as such.

"We will have to monitor the use and do random spot checks to confirm
the usage," Neuman told the Index-Tribune on Tuesday, saying his
office had visited the business several times and always found it
vacant and locked. No one returned repeated phone calls from the
county to the dispensary's advertised phone number. "We have not been
able to confirm the operation. We will sit back and wait for them to
commence an unlawful act."

Pelham repeatedly said the reason the county was never able to
confirm the usage was because the location was never open for
business. She said she had to wait until the county offices reopened
on Monday to visit the Permit and Resource Management Department and
attempt to get a permit to operate the dispensary. Her request was
denied because the business was not acceptable at that location due
to its proximity to the Teen Center and Flowery School.

"Those are the two big deal breakers," Neuman said. "The applicant
was notified this was not an appropriate usage."

Pelham said she was aware of the county's ordinance limiting a
dispensary's location to areas not in proximity to youth
organizations and schools, but said she hoped to "work something out"
with the Teen Center to gain approval to operate from that location.

"I find it amusing that they didn't want us to sell across the street
from (the Teen Center) but they're OK with selling alcohol right next
door," she said, referring to a local market.

Now that the operators have shut down the business, canceled their
lease and locked the doors, the county has no plans to take further
action against the operators.

"That's the end of the issue," said 1st District Supervisor Valerie
Brown. "It (the business) is chained and locked, there's nothing to confirm."

On Wednesday morning, the handmade signs were still posted in the
glass door front of the facility and some furniture, a small desk and
numerous copies of Kush magazine could be seen inside the front room.
Kush is a "monthly medical marijuana lifestyle magazine" according to
its website. "Alikchi" is a Choctaw Indian word referring to a shaman
or healer.

Pelham was inspired to operate in Boyes Hot Springs after a longtime
patron of her now-closed Corte Madera dispensary suggested the
location because she was tired of driving long distances to obtain
medication for her daughter, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Pelham
said she was seeking to open a dispensary that would allow safe
access for older patients with serious illness, and was willing to
limit patients to ages 21 and up.

"We were going to go above and beyond to be a good neighbor because
everyone thinks we won't be," Pelham said, adding that most youths
who want to buy marijuana already know where to find it on the
streets. "And they buy it for one-third of the price because they
don't have to pay for taxes and overhead. It's the same way kids
wouldn't buy alcohol at a liquor store, it's too hard, they'll just
steal it from their parents liquor cabinet."

Pelham said she was eager to work with the county to comply with all
codes, but never had the opportunity because a "media storm" was
created before the business could open.

"We just wanted to have a nice, safe facility that people would feel
comfortable getting medication from. If they just said it's too close
to the Teen Center we need you to move, that'd be one thing, but this
circus is just ridiculous," she said. "I feel like this is almost a
witch burning here. It's just really unbelievable."

When asked, hypothetically, what would happen if the dispensary were
to stay open and the county confirmed "unlawful usage," Neuman said
there are several code enforcement techniques the county could
utilize, beginning with a 30-day notice to vacate. The county Board
of Supervisors would ultimately decide what action to take against an
unlawful dispensary, but Neuman said fines are not the preferred method.

"Our goal is not to penalize, our goal is just to get them to comply
with county code," he said.

Neuman and Brown said this is the first dispensary to open in Sonoma
County that clearly violates the ordinance by opening within 1,000
feet of a school.

But there are several medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the
county in dispute, including one attempting to open at the Valley of
the Moon Plaza, a shopping center at the intersection of Sonoma
Highway and Melita Road. Brown said she believes that dispensary
violates the county ordinance by being within 1,000 feet of any
organization "that caters to or provides services primarily to
persons under 18 years of age," in this case a martial arts studio.

Brown said the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries would be
discussed at a future meeting of the board of supervisors, as there
is a need for the county to have more regulatory authority over this
type of business.

"We just don't have that, we're still figuring it out," she said.
"We're going to be addressing that in the county."