Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2012
Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA)
Copyright: 2012 The Desert Sun
Contact: http://local2.thedesertsun.com/mailer/opinionwrap.php
Website: http://www.mydesert.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112
Note: Does not accept LTEs from outside circulation area.
Author: Blake Herzog

RANCHO MIRAGE MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY RULING VAGUE

RANCHO MIRAGE - A medical marijuana dispensary could reopen as early 
as today after a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled against 
an order sought by the city - in an apparent reversal of a statement 
released earlier Wednesday.

Attorney Joseph Rhea declared victory for his client, Rancho Mirage 
Safe Access Wellness Center, Wednesday evening after discovering the 
minute entry had changed in his favor.

"The medical marijuana ban in Rancho Mirage is over," he said.

The Riverside County Superior Court's website said Wednesday 
afternoon that a preliminary injunction against the dispensary had 
been denied, and a temporary restraining order issued against it Aug. 
6 had been dissolved.

But Wednesday morning, the same entry stated the preliminary 
injunction had been granted.

City Attorney Steve Quintanilla said he would seek clarification from 
the court this morning, pointing out a previous entry in the same 
case that had been corrected and noted in the record, while 
Wednesday's decision was changed without explanation.

"We don't know which is the correct ruling," he said.

The dispensary opened in June inside the round Executive Suites Plaza 
building at 72-067 Highway 111.

It defied a dispensary ban adopted by the City Council in February 
2011, which was then overturned in a lawsuit filed by a different 
dispensary in October. The city has appealed that decision.

Rancho Mirage sued Safe Access on the grounds the dispensary didn't 
have the certificate of occupancy and business license the city 
requires of all businesses.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Evans granted the city a 
temporary restraining order Aug. 6, after which the dispensary 
applied for the permits.

A video submitted by Rhea in court shows a city employee telling a 
dispensary representative the certificate of occupancy application 
would go through a different process involving the city attorney, and 
that it was not likely to be granted.

Rhea was convinced Wednesday that the video was decisive.

"That video shows the city committing a fraud," he said.

Quintanilla said the judge didn't comment on the video when hearing 
arguments in the case on Monday, and denied there's a different, 
unwritten procedure for dispensaries.

City code enforcement officials ultimately inspected the decades-old 
building and denied the certificate of occupancy, citing lack of 
parking and other accommodations for disabled customers.

Both versions of Evans' order give the dispensary 90 days to fix "any 
written deficiencies issued by the city of Rancho Mirage under the 
applicable California building code; the city of Rancho Mirage 
Municipal Code or any public safety regulation except as it relates 
to a certificate of occupancy or business license."

Rhea said the dispensary operators have no problem with meeting any 
handicapped-access requirements set by the judge, but that 
requirements won't be as strict because it was built before the 1992 
Americans with Disabilities Act was adopted.

He said much of the mystique around the dispensaries would clear once 
Safe Access reopens. "People are going to see how boring this is; 
nothing's going to happen to the neighborhood," he said.

Quintanilla said if the second version of Evans' ruling is confirmed 
as the correct one, the city would likely consider an appeal.

"It's at best a split decision. I'm glad the judge ruled in favor of 
the health and safety of the citizens," he said.

Palm Springs is the only Coachella Valley city which allows a limited 
number of dispensaries. The rest of the valley's cities have outlawed 
them, as has Riverside County.

The county lost a bid to close 12 dispensaries, many in the Thousand 
Palms area, in superior court on Aug. 3.

Cities and counties across California are hoping the state Supreme 
Court will decide whether dispensary bans are legal, after a series 
of conflicting decisions at the superior court and appeals court levels.

Quintanilla said that ruling will likely come early next year.

California voters approved the state's medical marijuana law in 1996, 
but the drug remains illegal under federal law, and the U.S. 
Attorney's Office has stepped up enforcement against legal and 
illegal dispensaries over the past year.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom