Pot Club Still Rolling Despite City’s Medicinal Marijuana Ban

A hasn’t stopped the Caring Hands Association Wellness Center from operating.

The medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors to the public Jan. 18, despite not having the legal permission to do, according to city staff. The nonprofit collective was still open Friday afternoon.

The City of Union City issued the temporary ban on dispensaries Tuesday night, suspending the approval of business licenses or permits for medical marijuana dispensaries and their operations for 45 days.

City Attorney Benjamin Reyes declined to comment Thursday on what immediate actions would be taken.

CHA’s attorney Derek Longstaff, however, argues that the moratorium can not be used to shut down the dispensary.

“The moratorium can not work retroactively,” Longstaff said Thursday.

He argues that the business is within its legal bounds to operate.

According to Longstaff, CHA's business license was approved September 2010 to distribute "medical remedies."

“They may disagree whether those herbal remedies are potent or have medical values,” he said.

Longstaff, who began representing CHA earlier this month, said it was clearly stated in CHA’s articles of incorporation in 2010 that it intended “to facilitate transactions between medicinal cannabis to qualified patients.”

“The city did not follow through a year and a half ago with what is now their current wish,” Longstaff said. “I don’t have an explanation as to why the city didn’t check the articles of incorporation.”

Reyes says that isn’t true.

“They never had the right to open in Union City to begin with,” Reyes said. “We specifically indicated that they are not to distribute medical marijuana. The uses conflict with federal law.”

The sale, use and distribution of marijuana is illegal under federal law. City regulations require that all businesses in Union City be compliant with federal laws, Reyes said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, meaning it has "a high potential for abuse (and) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."

While banned federally, cannabis collectives are allowed to distribute medicinal marijuana to seriously ill patients with doctor’s permission under Proposition 215, known as the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

Adding to the legal tangle is a ruling from last November that determined cities could shut down and ban marijuana dispensaries within their local jurisdictions, which is now being reviewed by the California Supreme Court.

Because that case, and several other medical marijuana cases, are under review, there is an “absence of law,” which made it necessary for the city to pass the moratorium, Reyes said.

The ban was established to protect public health, safety and welfare, he said.

According to city staff, other cities have experienced an increase of crime in areas surrounding dispensaries.

Longstaff said that won't be the case with CHA Wellness.

CHA Wellness is a nonprofit collective formed in September 2010 and run by a board of directors, according to Longstaff.

He said there was a split among the board, with some members hiring a marketing group and rushing its .

According to Longstaff, CHA Wellness is no longer affiliated with Green Cross Care Center and is starting with a clean slate.

“This group (CHA), they want what they have — a fairly low-key operation serving the patients in that community,” Longstaff said.

He said CHA is taking “a more medicinal approach,” whereas the operators of Green Cross were promoting free giveaways of “mega huge burrito size” joints.

Longstaff said he’s been communicating with the city but was not notified of the moratorium being added to the City Council agenda earlier this week.

“I find it a little troubling that the parties most affected by it would not be invited,” Longstaff said.

He doesn’t know what actions the city will take, but said CHA is dedicated to cooperating with the city.

“They’re agreeable to most any reasonable accommodations — about the hours, things of that nature,” Longstaff said. “If there’s something the city needs my client to do to feel less concerned about the so-called health and safety issues, we’ll do what we can to meet them halfway.”