SMALL VICTORY FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE

VISTA -- Two dozen medical marijuana collective supporters dressed in
green shirts were in the courtroom as Judge Earl Maas of Vista
Superior Court OK'd North County Collective to reopen on July 27.

The medical marijuana collective temporarily shut down after it
received notice from the city of Oceanside on July 15 to cease and
desist operations until the Aug. 12 hearing that will determine if the
collective can continue to operate.

Maas said a business needs to be given due notice before it is asked
to close. He added that he is impressed the collective shut down
immediately.

In attendance were attorney Katherine Clifton and her client Ken
Halbert, director of CKS Organics, which was also ordered by the city
of Oceanside to shut down until its court date. Papers were filed
against CKS Organics on June 30, but notice was not served until July
22.

"The city failed to give a 30-day notice," Clifton
said.

A court date is set for Aug. 5 to determine if CKS Organics can reopen
and do business until the court definitively decides if it can operate.

The OK for North County Collective to reopen was considered a small
victory for the collective and the medical marijuana industry. The
next step is to get a court OK to run the business.

"Our goal is to work with the city and enact some regulations that
allows medical marijuana dispensaries," attorney Lance Rogers said.
"Medical marijuana dispensaries do exist. Being run out of town is not
an option."

North County Collective has had two business locations since it opened
in Oceanside in February. The business moved to its present location
at 913 S. Coast Highway 101 in May after its previous landlord had a
change of heart about renting space to a medical marijuana dispensary.

"I am operating a business against a stacked deck," said John
Scandalios, director of North County Collective. "Tax me, regulate me,
let me operate."

Scandalios opened North County Collective after he saw a need for
safe, knowledgeable patient access to medical marijuana. Scandalios
has used medical marijuana for 15 years due to severe arthritis in his
shoulders, back and knees.

The collective is reportedly run like a tight ship. To assure patient
safety and prevent theft, North County Collective upholds tight
security. Two uniformed security guards monitor the outside, multiple
security camera record what happens inside and outside, and locked
alarmed doors stand between the waiting room and dispensary room.

Product quality is monitored and patient consulting is provided.
Marijuana is purchased from reputable growers and prepackaged by
dispensary volunteers to minimize handling and assure freshness. Bud
masters consult patients on the benefits of different strands of
marijuana and the choices of herb or edible forms of cannabis.

Scandalios sees the issue of the city shutting down businesses as
bigger than his collective or medical marijuana dispensaries.

"The city did this to me they can do it to any business," Scandalios
said.