PERRIS: PATIENTS PROTEST ORDER TO CLOSE POT CLINIC

More than 15 people asked the Perris City Council on Tuesday night to
reconsider a code enforcement citation that essentially orders Perris'
only walk-in marijuana clinic to close.

Situated among mom-and-pop markets on Indian Hills Circle, the Relaxed
Expressions Collective is a medical pot clinic where patients help
cultivate an indoor garden of 40 to 60 marijuana plants, said
executive director Ryan Raven.

People who spoke from the lectern identified themselves as patients
suffering from illnesses ranging from cancer to arthritis to epilepsy.
They said the clinic allows them safe access to a substance that
relieves chronic pain without severe side effects.

Last Thursday, the city issued the clinic a notice of violation that
cites it for "illegal building construction" and for lacking a
business license. The notice also states a business license cannot be
granted because of a city ordinance banning medical marijuana
dispensaries.

The citation gives the business until Dec. 24 to correct its
violations.

"There's no way for us to correct it because in order to correct it we
need to obtain a business license," Raven said after the council
meeting. "We hope to meet with them and start discussing possible remedies."

The council did not respond to the speakers. Citing the state's Brown
Act, which sets rules for open government meetings, Mayor Daryl Busch
said the council is restricted in discussing things not on the meeting
agenda.

The City Council's next scheduled meeting is Dec. 28, four days after
the clinic's deadline.

Before opening the clinic in November 2009, Raven said, he asked
Perris officials whether he needed any special permits to operate a
social club because he said that a marijuana-growing collective fits
that category. He said he did not mention that the social club would
be cultivating or selling pot.

"If the state of California allows us to grow in our backyard, how can
the city prevent us from collectively cultivating?" Raven asked.