VISTA: Officials say marijuana dispensaries were never allowed in city

By CIGI ROSS - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:00 pm

Medical marijuana dispensaries that have located in Vista have done so
despite an existing policy that prohibits them, city officials said.

Assistant City Attorney Pete Grover on Thursday told members of the
city's Crime and Substance Abuse Prevention Commission that the city
adopted a redevelopment code in 2007 outlawing marijuana collectives.

"The code provides that if a (land) use is in violation of federal law,
it can never be permitted," Grover said. "It predated the medical
marijuana initiative."

California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, but it is still
against federal law in all instances, Grover said. He said the city
manager and attorney approved an administrative policy in April that
further outlined the prohibition.

In September, law enforcement officials shut down 14 medical marijuana
dispensaries countywide and arrested more than 30 people.

Three North County shops were raided in the operation, including The
Healing Dragon and Movement in Action, both on South Santa Fe Avenue in
Vista, and San Diego Dispensary Services on Los Vallecitos Boulevard in
San Marcos.

Vista resident James Stacy is being tried in federal court on charges
accusing him of selling marijuana to an undercover officer who posed as
a patient at Movement in Action.

Community Development Director John Conley said the shops operating on
South Santa Fe Avenue or any others operating in Vista were not licensed
by the city.

"If they're happening, they're happening without the city's knowledge,"
he said.

Conley said city code enforcement officials and deputies with the San
Diego County Sheriff's Department are consistently checking on the
businesses to make sure they're within compliance.

Grover told commission members there were still ongoing investigations
at dispensaries within Vista but would not give further details.

"There were dispensaries set up. That's all I can say," he said.

Grover said Vista's development code will steel the city from problems
down the road and would hold up in court if dispensaries ever try to sue
the city.

"It's prevented a lot of issues the county and some of the other cities
are dealing with," Conley said.

In 2006, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors filed a lawsuit to
overturn the medical marijuana law, saying it conflicts with federal
drug laws. The supervisors unsuccessfully challenged the law all the way
to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear an appeal in May.

In August, the county enacted a moratorium on the dispensaries through
August 2010.

In September, a state court ruled that local governments can ban medical
marijuana dispensaries from setting up shop in their jurisdictions.

Contact staff writer Cigi Ross at 760-901-4067.

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