SAN DIEGO POT SHOP EVICTIONS OK, JUDGE DECIDES

A landlord in San Diego can evict a medical marijuana dispensary
because under city zoning laws, pot dispensaries are not legal
anywhere in the city, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager, in a decision
released Monday, said it was permissible for Kimber Investment Group
to evict the Medibloom dispensary from the building that the
investment group owns in a Rancho Bernardo shopping center.

"Cities ... are the arbiter of zoning laws," Prager wrote. "There's
no place in the city of San Diego, including the shopping center in
Rancho Bernardo, where a medical marijuana dispensary is a
permissible use. It is therefore illegal."

In his decision, Prager also noted that neighbors have complained
about increased crime since the dispensary moved in.

The San Diego City Council passed a zoning ordinance for medical
marijuana dispensaries, but marijuana activists found it too
restrictive and mounted a successful petition drive to put the issue
to a public vote.

Rather than put the issue on the ballot, the council rescinded the
ordinance. The result has been to strengthen the city attorney's
aggressive stand to force marijuana dispensaries out of the city.

Federal prosecutors also have stepped up enforcement of federal law
that criminalizes possession of marijuana.

City Atty. Jan Goldsmith noted that "building owners have been put on
notice by the U.S. attorney that they must remove these illegal
dispensaries or risk loss of their buildings under asset forfeiture."

Prager's decision, he said, removes the legal argument that
dispensaries are permissible in San Diego under state law.

Meanwhile, medical marijuana advocates have filed lawsuits to stop
U.S. attorneys in California from shutting down pot dispensaries. On
Tuesday, they plan to seek temporary restraining orders.