Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 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
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Author: Blake Herzog

'IGNORANCE IS BLISS' AT RANCHO MIRAGE POT SHOP

Customers of Newly Reopened Dispensary Not Too Aware of Its Fight to 
Exist in Rancho Mirage

RANCHO MIRAGE - A few miles away from the Betty Ford Center, a 
medical marijuana dispensary got off to a mellow restart Friday.

About a dozen patients had floated in by mid-afternoon at Rancho 
Mirage Safe Access Wellness Center, which opened its doors again 
after its latest win in a legal face-off with the city.

"It usually takes people about a week to start coming in," said 
general manager Alice Jensen.

Patient Travis Rockwell knew they were open "because there were cars 
in the parking lot."

Joseph Rhea, the dispensary's attorney, dropped by for his first look inside.

"It's kind of boring," he said. "It's an office building."

Despite the surface calm, the day was another tumultuous round in the 
state pot shop fight, 16 years since voters approved medical marijuana.

Rancho Mirage has lost twice at the local court level. Riverside 
County won at the appellate level, closing down two dispensaries - 
including one in Thousand Palms.

In Los Angeles, a ban that was supposed to go in effect this week was 
on hold as 50,000 petition signatures are counted for a possible public vote.

Rockwell, 34, of Rancho Mirage, said he's vaguely aware of some of 
the conflicting court rulings, "but I try not to pay attention to all 
the political stuff. Ignorance is bliss."

The distinctively round, glass building at 72-067 Highway 111 where 
he showed up felt like a greenhouse inside, as the air conditioning 
was out in half the interior.

The lobby, swathed in soothing green and cream colors, is punctuated 
by a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor, where massages 
may someday be offered.

There's some low-slung furniture where patients can sit and watch a 
large-screen TV while they wait to be shown into the small room on the left.

That's where small tins of marijuana and rainbow-colored Rice 
Krispies treats are displayed in a glass case.

The dispensary was originally scheduled to open Monday, four days 
after a temporary restraining order sought by the city was lifted, 
but not enough inventory had arrived yet, Jensen said.

She declined to say exactly where the marijuana comes from.

"There are several local growers that we use, and they really came 
through for us," she said.

Jensen, an Indio native who used to own a carpet-cleaning business, 
said patients spend an average of $50 to $100 per visit. She is 
ramping back up to seven employees to serve about 600 members of the 
collective.

The state Supreme Court is reviewing several cases about whether 
cities and counties can ban dispensaries. A ruling is expected by 
early next year.

Meanwhile, the pitched, back-and-forth battles in lower courts continue.

The Fourth Appellate District Court based in Riverside reversed a 
decision by a Riverside County Court judge on Tuesday, ordering two 
dispensaries to shut down.

One of those is MOSA Collective in Thousand Palms, where no one 
answered the phone Friday.

The county has been fighting to close down pot shops, which have 
flourished in unincorporated areas.

The ruling "sends a clear message to businesses within the court's 
jurisdiction - Riverside, San Bernardino and Inyo counties - that 
local governments can ban dispensaries," county spokesman Raymond Smith said.

MOSA's attorney, J. David Nick, said the appellate court should not 
have ruled at all.

"The law in this area is very unsettled until the Supreme Court 
rules," he said.

All valley cities except Palm Springs have banned dispensaries. 
Rancho Mirage became the last to do so a year and a half ago, but has 
been embroiled in lawsuits ever since - four of them.

"What gravely concerns me with this particular case is that we have 
an opinion that provides special privileges to marijuana dispensaries 
by exempting them from state law," Quintanilla wrote in an email 
about Safe Access.

The first dispensary to sue Rancho Mirage, called Desert Heart 
Collective, is now looking at another location in the city and asking 
for permits, said its attorney Nathan Shaman.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom