Tracy pot club facing closure

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Tracy pot club facing closure
By Mike Martinez, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 01/31/2007 02:43:40 AM PST

TRACY - An arbitrator has ordered a medical marijuana dispensary that
opened more than two months ago to close by Feb. 9.
Jeanne Schechter, Merced's assistant city attorney, found that the
dispensary does not fall within the permitted uses allowed in the
downtown area.
After being open for about two weeks, the Valley Wellness Cannabis
Collective was ordered in November by city code enforcement officers
to "discontinue the nonlisted use of distributing medical marijuana"
in Tracy by Dec. 5.
In her ruling released this week, Schechter also ruled the
dispensary could appeal the order. The center, she found, was not a
pharmacy and doesn't fall under miscellaneous retail uses allowed in
the city code.
In her seven-page ruling, Shechter said the collective "is
considered a public nuisance" under city codes.
"(The) Tracy Municipal Code ... provides that unauthorized uses are
prohibited," Schechter wrote. "The (collective) does not fall within
any unconditionally permitted uses within the (Central Business
District) Zone and as such, is an unauthorized use in violation of
the Tracy Municipal Code."
Although there is nothing in the city code specifically banning
medical marijuana dispensaries, there's also nothing that allows for
it.
Matt Robinson, a spokesman for the city of Tracy, said the ruling
was good news for the city, which has seen two marijuana dispensaries
open in the past two years, the first two ever to open in San Joaquin
County.
"The city is pleased with the arbitrator's ruling," Robinson
said."If the cannabis club wishes to appeal, the city will defend its
position. We feel we are right in doing so."
Attorneys for the collective were unavailable for comment Tuesday morning.
In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215 - the
Compassionate Use Act - providing the seriously ill with the right to
obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes.
The San Joaquin County District Attorney's office interprets the
retail sale of marijuana, even to those who have a doctor's
recommendation, as illegal.
Mike Martinez can be reached at (209) 832-3947 or at
mmartinez [at] trivalleyherald.com.