Marysville wants $68,000 from closed marijuana dispensary

Operators of a temporarily closed marijuana dispensary should pay
Marysville $68,000 in penalties and be prevented from reopening
without a business permit, according to the city.

The recent motion filed in Yuba County Superior Court seeks a summary
judgment in a lawsuit against NorCal Health and Wellness Collective,
which ran a medical marijuana dispensary at 825 9th Street for much of
2010.

City Council members and officials met in closed session Tuesday to
discuss the suit, which is scheduled to be heard in court Sept. 26.

At the heart of the city's lawsuit is the allegation that no business
or conditional use permit was obtained prior to opening the
dispensary. Carothers Investments, owner of the Marysville property,
has asserted that though no business license was issued on paper,
NorCal's application for a license had been approved in December 2009
by the city.

"This case is really about the plaintiff's having buyer's remorse,"
reads a complaint filed in response to the city's allegations in July
2010.

The city approved the business license application, according to the
complaint, but later decided that "... for perceived political
reasons, it would rather not have NorCal operating its non-profit
corporation in the City of Marysville."

Support for the most recent motion filed July 7 by the city includes a
document that recounts events during several visits Marysville Police
Officer Kevin Conde made to the Ninth Street facility in 2010.

Operators of the dispensary were issued citations on April 22 and
again on May 19 for failing to produce a business license or
conditional use permit to operate a medical marijuana dispensary,
according to the document.

Police served a search warrant on Dec. 15, during which 31 pounds of
marijuana were seized.