LOS ANGELES (CN) - A medical marijuana club has challenged a Los Angeles city law that put a moratorium on new "medical marijuana dispensaries." Westside Green Oasis claims the one-year moratorium, enacted in June, violates the state's Compassionate Use Act.
Green Oasis insists that it filed all the forms, tax payments, business insurance, and seller's permit requirements before the city adopted its ordinance. It claims the city harassed it and forced it to close.
California voters voted to legalize marijuana for medical purposes in 1996. The state enacted supplemental legislation, Senate Bill 420, to clarify the "Compassionate Use Act" and give qualified patients easier access to marijuana through "collective, cooperative cultivation projects," according to the Superior Court complaint.
Green Oasis says the city enacted its moratorium, which may be extended, by claiming that "the spirit and intent of the Compassionate Use Act has been exploited and abused for both profit and recreational drug abuse by many of the medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles."
The city served "noncompliance" notices to Green Oasis and its landlord, so the cannabis club says it is facing eviction and must close down.
Green Oasis claims the city's ordinance is unconstitutionally vague, unreasonable, and discriminatory. It seeks declaratory relief, fees, and costs.
Los Angeles Collective Association is also a plaintiff in the suit.
Green Oasis is represented by Robert Kahn.
(The attorney is not the Robert Kahn who writes a Friday column for Courthouse News Service.)
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