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February 25, 2010

Judge orders Walnut Creek’s pot club closed

A Contra Costa County Superior Court judge granted a request for a preliminary injunction from the city of Walnut Creek and ordered the nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary to close by March 23 or to face contempt-of-court charges.  


C3 opened in August, but the city said its operations, near the Almond-Shuey neighborhood on Oakland Boulevard, violated city zoning laws.

In an interview with the Contra Costa Times, Bryan Wenter, assistant city attorney says that the city is not campaigning against medical marijuana by targeted this business for closure. Residents in Walnut Creek have plenty of other ways to get their pot.

“There are numerous other sources of medical marijuana in this county and other nearby counties . … There are also delivery services that come to Walnut Creek. … This is a land use matter.”


In the fall, before the club  hosted its official Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce-attended grand opening, the city began fining C3 Collective $500 a day it was found opened. The city then filed a lawsuit in September, seeking a permanent injunction.  The preliminary injunction is a first step in that process.

C3 leaders did not respond to the Times’ calls for comment. And, as I just drove by, the club appeared to be closed with No Trespassing signs posted out front.



11 comments:

Beau Hunk said...

Makin' that font size really small, aren't we, Crazy?

Anonymous said...

this solves the small font problem

http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/

Bob said...

Beau Hunk,

Soccer Mom is not crazy. The point suburbia is trying to make her crazy.

Also, SM does not receive any remuneration for her efforts, so you should be thoughtful before you criticize her.

Martha Ross said...

Font issues! Bob, Beau Hunk...
Thanks, Bob, for speaking up, but Beau Hunk is griping about something that makes me Crazy. No, I was wondering at another computer, or a different browser, or whatever, and for some reason, it makes the font issues all wacky. I'll try and fix it, because it bothers me, too.

Martha Ross said...

Finally got a chance to fix it. Better late that never, and Beau Hunk... You a new reader? Welcome. Nice nom de plume, or however you spell that...

Anonymous said...

Where the hell is Mickey?

Anonymous said...

SMom,

You are so lucky to have a white knight named Bob to stick up for you, even when it isn't necessary.

Is he getting remuneration?

People against jail for weed said...

It is no secret that I thought this place decided to fight the uphill battle and apparently lost. That is the gamble they took in opening without the blessing of the city, especially in WC. There is something to be said about standing up for safe access, but at least do it in an area properly zoned and spend your political capital working with instead of against those who are the decision makers in this matter. Had I been consulting him I would have advised against this approach. His attorney is getting paid either way I am sure. I look forward to Contra Costa having real and safe access to cannabis medicines soon. Maybe in the Creek, maybe somewhere else. The City Attorney is flippant in his responses about well patients can go somewhere else or have a strange person deliver it to their home. These are not fair business practices nor are they necessary measures to take to protect this community. What C-3 did show was that it was in town for several months with little incident. I think just reading this blog alone I could count several pharmacies, banks, and other establishments being robbed, but C-3 did not have any issues with law enforcement being called out for any reason. That is a good thing. Medical cannabis dispensing collectives are safe.

People against jail for weed said...

Benefits of Having A Dispensing Collective in Your Community

• Dispensing collectives provide benefits to the sick and suffering in your community. Dispensaries remove common barriers to accessing cannabis medicines. Often patients are not skilled or physically able to cultivate their medicines. A rapid onset of a serious illness normally does not afford a patient the several months and extensive costs it takes to produce quality cannabis medicines. A dispensary can provide these medicines as an alternative to potentially dangerous illicit transactions.
• Dispensing collectives provide psychosocial health benefits to patients in your community. Often patients find more than just safe and effective medicines in a collective setting. They find a community to be a part of and in turn experience much higher levels of satisfaction and wellness than a patient who is isolated away from others.
• Dispensing collectives provide key heath and social services to their patients. Dispensaries offer a wide array of cannabis therapies, giving patients the opportunity to share experiences on what may work best for different afflictions and find different methods of ingestion, such as tinctures and extracts to treat their symptoms. Collectives also provide a vast selection of social services to their patients, including counseling, support groups, help with housing and meals, hospice care, and alternative therapies like massage and yoga. These support services give most patients the opportunity to experience and try treatments they normally could not afford or known existed.
• Dispensing collectives increase public safety in the areas around them. Many cities and towns have found that crime and unwanted behaviors have decreased in an area where a well-run and regulated dispensing collective exists. Collectives take security seriously, often employing multiple security guards and implementing security cameras and alarm systems. These are natural deterrents to those who engage in unwanted behaviors and they normally move to a less monitored area, increasing safety for the collective and the neighborhood it serves.
• Dispensing collectives are good neighbors and can revitalize an area. Collectives instill good neighbor policies with their members that encourage them to be conscious and positive forces in the areas around the collective. A collective brings new people to the area to access services, which brings foot traffic to neighboring businesses and increases the vitality of the neighborhood by bringing customers to areas they normally would not visit. They patronize other businesses for convenience.
• Dispensing collectives create jobs in the community. With unemployment rates at extremely high levels, it is important to realize that a dispensing collective will employ at least 10-15 people, including management, service personnel, security, and community liaison positions.
• Dispensing collectives provide much needed revenue through business and sales taxes. A well-run dispensing collective can provide a great deal of revenue through normal business taxes and to the county through sales taxes. Oakland passed Measure F in July 2009 taxing collectives at 1.8% or 15 times the normal business rate. The measure passed with 80% of voters’ approval. Many other cities are putting the same type of measure on the upcoming ballots for special election.
• Collectives are not for profit organizations. Collectives use excess revenue to fund local projects and worthwhile organizations, such as food banks, homeless shelters, and educational assistance funds.

Martha Ross said...

Mickey!
We were waiting to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by to comment.

People against jail for weed said...

No problem. I check in often and red your posts. Interesting stuff for sure. Thanks for keeping the community informed.