OFF THE WIRE
OCEANSIDE: Closed marijuana dispensary accuses city of elder abuseOperators of an Oceanside Boulevard marijuana dispensary closed by the city have filed a legal claim accusing Oceanside officials of elder abuse for denying medicine to their patients.
"If you deny someone access to their medicine, they suffer pain," said Katherine Clifton, a lawyer for CKS Organics and operators Kenneth and Chad Halbert.
With the city closing dispensaries, Clifton said patients have to look for other sources of marijuana.
"It's making people that are elderly and disabled become criminals to get medicine they're legally entitled to," Clifton said outside a Vista Superior Courtroom on Friday.
Deputy City Attorney Annie Perrigo said outside the courtroom that CKS' claim of elder abuse "has absolutely no merit."
City officials have refused to issue business licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries because of a January 2010 zoning code amendment which doesn't list dispensaries as approved businesses.
CKS closed its dispensary at 1906 Oceanside Boulevard last month after the city got a court temporary restraining order.
Superior Court Judge Jacqueline M. Stern issued a preliminary injunction Friday ordering CKS to remain closed pending a trial on the city's request for a permanent injunction to close the dispensary down for good.
No date has been set for the trial, Perrigo said.
Two other dispensaries closed by the city ---- North County Collective and Abaca Medical Collective ---- are challenging the city's actions in court.
North County Collective reopened last week pending an Aug. 12 court hearing after a judge lifted his earlier temporary restraining against the business.
Clifton said the elder abuse claim was CKS's counterargument to the city's request for a permanent injunction.
A legal claim is a required preliminary step before someone can file a lawsuit against a government entity.
If the city denies the claim, CKS will file a lawsuit seeking undetermined damages, Clifton said.
"I don't think people realize the impact of closing dispensaries on the ill and the elderly and it's time they learn," Clifton said. "I want a jury to sit and tell these people that are elderly and ill that it is illegal for them to get their medicine."
The judge, in ordering CKS to remain closed, ruled that CKS was illegally operating without a business license.
With the city closing dispensaries, Clifton said patients have to look for other sources of marijuana.
"It's making people that are elderly and disabled become criminals to get medicine they're legally entitled to," Clifton said outside a Vista Superior Courtroom on Friday.
Deputy City Attorney Annie Perrigo said outside the courtroom that CKS' claim of elder abuse "has absolutely no merit."
City officials have refused to issue business licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries because of a January 2010 zoning code amendment which doesn't list dispensaries as approved businesses.
CKS closed its dispensary at 1906 Oceanside Boulevard last month after the city got a court temporary restraining order.
Superior Court Judge Jacqueline M. Stern issued a preliminary injunction Friday ordering CKS to remain closed pending a trial on the city's request for a permanent injunction to close the dispensary down for good.
No date has been set for the trial, Perrigo said.
Two other dispensaries closed by the city ---- North County Collective and Abaca Medical Collective ---- are challenging the city's actions in court.
North County Collective reopened last week pending an Aug. 12 court hearing after a judge lifted his earlier temporary restraining against the business.
Clifton said the elder abuse claim was CKS's counterargument to the city's request for a permanent injunction.
A legal claim is a required preliminary step before someone can file a lawsuit against a government entity.
If the city denies the claim, CKS will file a lawsuit seeking undetermined damages, Clifton said.
"I don't think people realize the impact of closing dispensaries on the ill and the elderly and it's time they learn," Clifton said. "I want a jury to sit and tell these people that are elderly and ill that it is illegal for them to get their medicine."
The judge, in ordering CKS to remain closed, ruled that CKS was illegally operating without a business license.
Call staff writer Ray Huard at 760-901-4062.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_7ade706e-140b-58f1-970f-f8010292a28f.html#ixzz1UDW1RwWc
