Pubdate: Thu, 09 Dec 2010
Source: Western News, The (MT)
Copyright: 2010 The Western News
Contact:  http://www.thewesternnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5189
Author: Canda Harbaugh

CITY TELLS POT STORE TO RELOCATE

The Libby City Council voted Tuesday to give a medical marijuana 
dispensary 60 days to relocate outside the city limits.

In response, one of its main investors promised litigation.

"I'm already losing money in this business, but I'll lose more money 
if I have to defend my patients," said Kevin Moore, investor and 
former director of a group of medical marijuana dispensaries, The 
Helping Centers of Montana.

The Helping Center of Libby doesn't meet one of the requirements of a 
city business license, the council said, because it violates federal 
law, which reads that medical marijuana is illegal.

Moore argued that the council shouldn't worry about repercussions 
from the federal government since the Obama Administration has 
clearly stated that it would not prosecute medical marijuana users 
who comply with state law.

Mayor Doug Roll pointed out many times throughout the meeting that 
the merits of medical marijuana and whether it's legal were not at 
issue. Roll said the special meeting was to determine whether the 
dispensary met all of the requirements to possess a city business license.

Councilmembers say they unknowingly approved a business license for 
the enterprise this past fall because the application did not 
explicitly state it was a medical marijuana provider, but a "pain clinic."

The council hopes that a ruling will soon come back in a similar case 
in district court between the City of Helena and a medical marijuana provider.

Sleeping Giant Caregivers is alleging that a city cannot impose 
restrictions on a business that is regulated by the state Department 
of Health and Human Services. If Sleeping Giant wins the case, the 
Libby council may revisit its decision before two months is up.

"If Helena wins, we're on good grounds (for rescinding the license)," 
councilmember Bill Bischoff said. "If not, we haven't caused any 
damage -- they're still in business."

However, the council didn't schedule any future meetings about the matter.

"You're putting me in a difficult position because I don't know if 
I'm supposed to be packing up after 59 days," Moore said. "I'm simply 
not going to do it. After 59 days I'm going to file an injunction."

Moore said that the business is providing a legitimate service to the 
citizens of Libby. He stated that he is "$300,000 in the hole" as one 
of the original investors of Libby's dispensary and other regional 
dispensaries, but that he keeps them operating for the well-being of patients.

Moore suggested not making a decision that night, but having the city 
attorney and the Helping Center's legal counsel come up with a mutual 
solution. The Helping Center of Kalispell, for example, was 
grandfathered in until its building lease is up because it began 
operating before the City of Kalispell enacted a moratorium on 
dispensaries, he said.

"Let us stay for the remainder of our lease and we'll move outside 
the city limits after that," Moore requested, adding that the 
one-year lease agreement for the building on California Avenue ends 
in October 2011.

The vote to suspend the business license passed 4-2, with 
councilmembers D.C. Orr and Peggy Williams opposed. Orr argued that 
there was no reason to suspend or revoke the license when it would be 
up for renewal at the beginning of the year.

"I think revoking a license that we've already given is weak legal 
grounds when we're just weeks away from issuing a new license," he 
said. "In those ensuing weeks, we may have a decision out of Helena 
which mirrors the situation we have here, which may save our 
taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees."

He asked that the council leave its ego at the door and take time to 
seek more legal counsel on the matter.

"Wouldn't discretion be the better part of valor at this point?" Orr 
asked. "We've got the Helping Center saying we're willing to 
negotiate with you. Why go to litigation right off the bat when maybe 
we still have a chance to iron this one out?"

The Helping Centers of Montana is a group of eight 
separately-registered S corporations. The medical marijuana clinics 
are operating in Kalispell, Libby, Bigfork and Columbia Falls, with 
new clinics in Eureka, Whitefish, Cut Bank and Glasgow on the horizon.

Rhonda McDowell-Rowen, the secretary and treasurer, recently replaced 
Moore as director of the Helping Centers.

Upon council questioning, Moore said that the corporations have both 
in-state and out-of-state shareholders, including a local investor from Troy.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart