California, Gardena

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Today is Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Originally published Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Updated Tuesday, October 24, 2006

City seeks to revoke marijuana stores' licenses

Gardena is the latest South Bay city to take on medical marijuana. Officials contend the owners of two businesses lied on their applications, stating they sold "herbal remedies."

By Gene Maddaus
DAILY BREEZE

Gardena has become the latest South Bay city to take on medical marijuana, moving to revoke business licenses for two storefront dispensaries.

The city alleges that the proprietors of both businesses -- Nature's Holistic Caregivers on Crenshaw Boulevard and California Caregivers' Association on Vermont Avenue -- lied when they filled out their license applications, stating they were selling "herbal remedies."

Both businesses admit they are selling medical marijuana, but say they are doing so within California law.

"We're helping people," said Virgil Grant, owner of the Crenshaw dispensary. "It was a place that probably hadn't been leased out for quite some time. We've come to bring some money to Gardena."

Under Proposition 215, which California voters approved a decade ago, doctors are allowed to prescribe small amounts of marijuana for chronic pain, AIDS, cancer, and other ailments. But the law conflicts with federal law, which classifies marijuana as a controlled substance.

Cities have been left to resolve the conflict through their zoning laws. Torrance, Hawthorne, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Lawndale and Hermosa Beach have all issued temporary or permanent bans on dispensaries in recent months.

The Gardena City Council is scheduled to take up the issue tonight. Two members contacted Monday seemed inclined to shut the businesses down.

"I don't think it belongs in our city," said Mayor Paul Tanaka. "Gardena is a small town, a middle-class town. We're not out to be the pioneers on anything like this."

Councilman Oscar Medrano, who suffers from chronic back pain, said he had been offered a prescription for marijuana, but had turned it down.

"Marijuana's an illegal drug," he said. "You start with one and it leads into another. I just think we should shut them down. It should be dispensed out of a hospital."

Both dispensaries opened within the past few months. Gardena police visited both in August, and talked to patients who had bought marijuana in prescription bottles and in brownies. At the Vermont dispensary, they found bongs and an inventory list that included such offerings as "Hindu Kush," "Silver and Purple Haze" and "Organic Purple Urkle."

At the time, the business license application for the Vermont dispensary was still pending, so the city manager denied it. The owner, Kwok Chan of Arcadia, has appealed, and the council is scheduled to hear the appeal tonight.

At the time of the police visit, the city had already granted a business license to the Crenshaw dispensary. Grant received notice last week that the council would consider revoking the license at tonight's meeting. Grant's attorney, Allison Margolin, said she would seek a delay.

Grant said he was not attempting to be deceptive when he filled out the license application. The business, in a storefront a block north of Rosecrans Avenue, has tinted windows. Patrons must push a buzzer to be let in by a security guard. A sign on the window says "members only."

"It takes people off the streets," Margolin said. "It basically eliminates a lot of black market traffic by taking the market from the street to a place where people have to be checked out."

Grant said the business also offers Chinese and African herbs, acupuncture and massage.

The proprietor of a business next door, International Mini Market, said the dispensary does not attract an unwelcome element.

"It's good," said the woman, who gave the name, Beatrice. "They don't give us no problem"

A volunteer at the Vermont dispensary, who also gave only his first name, Tony, said he started using marijuana to treat back pain and insomnia after a car crash.

"It helped relieve my pain, and relaxed my body on nights I can't sleep," he said.

He said he was disappointed that Gardena was attempting to shut the place down.

"Gardena is one of the few cities that still has the dispensaries," he said.

Dege Coutee, an advocate associated with the Vermont facility, said she was urging patients to come to tonight's meeting and ask that Gardena be made a "cannabis safe haven."

Gardena code makes no explicit mention of marijuana dispensaries. City Manager Mitch Lansdell said the city is considering whether to pass a ban sometime in the future.

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Originally published Thursday, October 26, 2006

Vote won't end Gardena's medical marijuana fight

Dispensary operators weigh legal options after council acts to close two facilities.

By Gene Maddaus
Daily Breeze

A day after the City Council rejected its license application, business was running as usual at the California Caregivers' Association of Gardena, one of the city's two medical marijuana dispensaries.

The council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to shut down both facilities -- CCA on Vermont Avenue and Nature's Holistic Caregivers on Crenshaw Boulevard. But with both proprietors mulling their legal options, the battle seems far from over.

Tony Martinez, a 60-year-old Gardena resident, bought $50 worth of marijuana pills and liquid at CCA on Wednesday. He suffers from arthritis and back problems, and said without marijuana, he can barely sit down.

"It's helped a lot," he said. "Otherwise, I'd be lying around in my bed watching TV all day."

The council Tuesday night heard from numerous medical marijuana patients, who urged them to keep the two dispensaries open.

"Not one person from your community has come and said shut these places down," said Richard Gordon, CCA's attorney.

Councilman Oscar Medrano said he was worried that the marijuana could get into the hands of children. CCA is around the corner from Gardena High School. Medrano said he had received marijuana that originated from both facilities, and had flushed some down the toilet and would give the rest to the police.

"I can't accept marijuana being sold in my city," he said.

Because marijuana dispensaries are not listed in Gardena's codes, both facilities stated on their business applications that they sell "herbal" remedies. Nature's Holistic Caregivers also offers African and Chinese herbs, as well as acupuncture and massage.

The council determined that by failing to disclose that they sell marijuana, the facilities had lied on their applications.

Councilman Steve Bradford was the lone dissenter.

Assistant City Attorney Steve Fischer said the city would send notices to both facilities ordering them to cease operations. If they persist, the city could take them to court. The city's codes already ban businesses that violate federal law, but the council may consider a more explicit ban on marijuana dispensaries in the coming months.

Gordon said that CCA, which is owned by Kwok Chan of Arcadia, could reapply for a license as a dispensary. The owner could also go to court to block the city from shutting down the business, on the argument that Proposition 215 made medical marijuana legal in California.

Allison Margolin, who represents Nature's Holistic Caregivers, said that its owner, Virgil Grant, reapplied for his license as a marijuana dispensary on Wednesday and would seek an injunction if the application is denied.

Gardena police Lt. Chuck Balo said the department has no plans to contact federal authorities to raid the dispensaries.

"We're sensitive to people with medical issues," he said. "We don't want to go out on a strong stance. We'll do it through the courts, and go slow but sure."

At CCA on Wednesday, a volunteer opened the door, releasing a strong marijuana odor. He declined to comment or give his name.

Next door, at America Auto Body Parts, proprietor Lidia Hernandez said her new neighbor poses a minor annoyance.

"I don't like how it smells," she said, in Spanish. "It's ugly. It's strong."

Staff writer Doug Irving contributed to this story.

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<small>Originally published Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Updated Wednesday, November 15, 2006 </small>

Gardena joins bans on medical marijuana outlets

Moratorium for 45 days will allow staff time to come up with permanent regulations.

By Gene Maddaus
Daily Breeze

Weeks after ordering two medical marijuana dispensaries to close, the Gardena City Council imposed a moratorium on such facilities Tuesday night.

Both dispensaries are still fighting City Hall. California Caregivers' Association, on Vermont Avenue, has closed, but its owner has sued the city in an effort to reopen next year.

The other dispensary, Nature's Holistic Caregivers on Crenshaw Boulevard, remains open in defiance of the City Council, which revoked its business license last month.

The council passed the 45-day moratorium with little fanfare on Tuesday night. The temporary ban will give the city's planning staffers time to draft permanent regulations.

Allison Margolin, the attorney for Nature's Holistic Caregivers, argued that it is against the law for the city to forbid marijuana dispensaries from doing business.

"It's illegal and it's a moral crime," she said. "What this would do is put marijuana back on the streets." Though California voters legalized medical marijuana a decade ago, it remains a controlled substance under federal law. As marijuana dispensaries have spread statewide, cities have struggled with the question of how best to regulate them. Several South Bay cities, including Lawndale, Torrance, Hawthorne, Redondo Beach, and Rancho Palos Verdes, have instituted bans similar to the one the Gardena council passed Tuesday night.

Councilman Steve Bradford, who was the lone supporter of the dispensaries last month, dissented from the majority again, as the council voted 4-1 to enact the moratorium.

Virgil Grant, the owner of Nature's Holistic Caregivers, presented 500 signatures from Gardena residents supporting his dispensary.

In an interview, Councilman Oscar Medrano cited concerns that the federal government could withdraw grants if the city allows marijuana dispensaries to operate.

"I will not allow moneys to be taken away from our seniors, our kids, our Meals on Wheels programs," Medrano said. "These are essential programs that are needed to keep the kids off the street." Medrano said he sympathized with medical marijuana patients, but was concerned that marijuana dispensaries are unregulated.

"Let's let a doctor prescribe it in the hospital," he said. "Let it be given in the right way, not in a store where you can walk in off the street."