PACHECO POT SHOP MUST SHUT ITS DOORS

PACHECO - A Pacheco medical marijuana dispensary that has remained
open despite a county order to close must stop selling cannabis
immediately, Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga ruled Thursday.

If the Maricare shop does not voluntarily close in the coming days,
the county would likely seek a warrant to shut down the property at
127 Aspen Drive.

The attorney for Maricare owner Demetrio Ramirez said either way, the
dispensary will be shut down by next week.

"Demetrio is going to reflect on what to do in light of what's
happened," said San Francisco attorney Jim Hammer, a frequent TV legal
commentator. "Demetrio isn't left with many options at this point. He
simply wanted to stay open as he appealed the county's decision."

Ramirez moved his business from downtown Concord last year after the
City Council passed a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries there.

The county Board of Supervisors in January voted unanimously to close
his Pacheco shop because it doesn't have a proper zoning permit and
violates Contra Costa's moratorium on such facilities. That order to
move out was effective March 8.

Residents living near the dispensary have complained about people
smoking marijuana in the parking lot and major traffic impacts from
thousands of customers.

"It has certainly impacted their quality of life," said Supervisor
Susan Bonilla, whose district includes Pacheco. "It's in the middle of
a neighborhood and Maricare is running a retail operation that was
zoned for an office. There are far more impacts to the neighborhood
than there should be for an office district."

The need for medical marijuana will continue, Hammer said, especially
since the only sanctioned shop left in the county is MEDelivery's
Dispensary in El Sobrante.

"It's not going away," Hammer said. "They are going to buy it from
drug dealers in dark alleys and parks where it is dangerous. It's time
for the county to come up with a regulatory scheme where Contra Costa
County residents can have reasonable access to medical marijuana."

The county's one-year moratorium expires next month.

Bonilla said the moratorium would likely be extended until the board
receives a task force report on how to regulate dispensaries. A
decision could come as soon as this summer.