Stoking embers of controversy, SouthwestRivCo cities and Riverside County continue to fight against marijuana dispensaries.
Wildomar became the latest city to ban dispensaries, after a Riverside County judge ruled in its favor.
On Monday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson ordered the Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group to close. A week earlier, Lake Elsinore City Council members voted to continue a moratorium on the businesses. Riverside County also reversed plans to allow dispensaries in certain areas and kept in place a county ordinance banning the dispensaries.
Wildomar Decision
Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group opened a dispensary in early December after filing a suit against the city. The group contends that the city’s ban on dispensaries contradicts state law granted safe accessing to medical marijuana.
The two sides were in court on Monday. Judge Johnson upheld the city’s ban and immediately ordered the existing Wildomar dispensary to close. The group’s attorney has stated he will file an appeal with the appellate court.
The city voted in 2008 to ban the dispensaries.
Lake Elsinore Decision
On December 14, Lake Elsinore council members continued a moratorium on dispensaries. The temporary ban dates back to Dec. 2009.
The city postponed a decision to wait and see the outcomes of legal proceedings and court ruling from other cities. At the time, the city wanted to see what leeway cities could have in limiting dispensaries.
The staff report for Tuesday’s meeting states the issue is still too undefined to take action on from a legal standpoint.
Riverside County
On the same day, that Lake Elsinore continued its ban, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors reversed plans to create zones where medical marijuana dispensaries could operate. Instead, supervisors decided to stick with an existing ban on marijuana shops.
The county had been working on zoning ordinances that would have allowed dispensaries in certain areas. The supervisors decided to stick with the current ban after watching neighboring counties enact bans.
Source: Southwest Riverside News Network
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