On his way out this evening, Jason Elola, manager of the last standing medical marijuana dispensary in the Stockton area, will lock the doors behind him for good. His landlord last month received a letter from federal prosecutors leaving few good options, Scott Smith reports in the Stockton Record. The Oct. 6 notice from U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner in Sacramento threatened to seize the building used by the Stockton Medical Collective, send its associates to prison and levy fines up to $500,000. “This letter puts you on notice,” it reads. “We will vigorously enforce the [...]
A Sacramento businessman behind plans for a medical marijuana dispensary already booted from one Stockton neighborhood said he’s now receiving resistance for asking to open shop not far from Cesar Chavez High School. Nicholas Street is applying to run Stockton Non-Profit Collective Inc. from 3646 Telstar Place, next to Hertz Car Sales. Street said he chose the location because it’s on a fenced-off lot and is tucked away in an industrial area, Scott Smith reports in the Stockton Record. That’s exactly the kind of place city leaders told him to find, he said, when they [...]
STOCKTON – The city’s planning leaders refused Thursday to approve a proposed medical marijuana dispensary, opposed by some for its proximity to homes and over fears of inadequate parking. The Planning Commission voted 4-2 to reject the dispensary, proposed for one of the primary entrances into Stockton, 1220 W. Fremont St., within walking distance of another dispensary approved in May. “This is in my backyard,” said Commissioner Christina Fugazi, who voted against the project. In a bid to save their proposal, the pot dispensary’s applicants gave commissioners 41 letters of support from nearby businesses and [...]
STOCKTON — Add at least one more hopeful to the medical marijuana dispensary applicants vying for Stockton’s three permits. An administrative hearing officer Wednesday granted an appeal by a collective disqualified last month when one of its applicants failed — by one question — a city-mandated test on medical marijuana laws, Daniel Thigpen reports in the Stockton Record. Collective 99, which wants to open a dispensary at 3646 Telstar Place, near Highway 99 and East Hammer Lane, will join eight other groups that have applied for the three permits allowed under Stockton’s new medical marijuana [...]
STOCKTON — Wednesday was supposed to be the day a special panel selects three finalists from those competing to become Stockton’s first permitted medical marijuana facilities. Instead, two previously disqualified dispensary applicants will try to force the city to return them to the contest, Daniel Thigpen reports in the Stockton Record. Their appeals center on a city-mandated test of medical marijuana laws, which City Hall requires applicants to pass under new medical pot regulations adopted last year. One applicant failed the test. The other didn’t show up to take it. They’ll argue their cases before [...]
STOCKTON — Deputy City Attorney Lori Whittaker, who has a sexual-harassment lawsuit pending against the city, was fired Wednesday in part for applying to operate a Stockton medical marijuana dispensary, she and her attorney said. Whittaker said she believes her firing was retaliation for not dropping the harassment suit, Daniel Thigpen reports in the Stockton Record. She said she was a finalist for a promotion just two weeks ago and that she previously had discussed her dispensary application with her boss, City Attorney John Luebberke. “He had no problem with it then,” she said. “It’s [...]
Whether this Stockton medical marijuana dispensary will be allowed to continue doing business remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Central Valley Caregivers Cooperative — better known by its former moniker, Pathways — is persistent, Daniel Thigpen reports in the Stockton Record. The dispensary is waging multiple legal fights in the months since a San Joaquin County judge ordered it to shut down at a previous Stockton location. That includes an appeals court case and a county code enforcement action over a second location opened earlier this year. Lynn Smith, the cooperative’s director, [...]
As many as three medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed in Stockton under regulations approved Tuesday by the City Council. City leaders for months have reviewed and revised proposed rules for pot shops, Daniel Thigpen reports in the Stockton Record. On Tuesday, attorneys and other medical marijuana advocates mostly spoke favorably of Stockton’s proposed rules before the council took action. Councilman Elbert Holman Jr. cast the lone dissenting vote after expressing concerns about possible increases in marijuana-related crime and violence. Though much language was revised in recent weeks at the request of dispensary supporters, the [...]
STOCKTON — A City Council committee Wednesday endorsed a revised set of rules that would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city but relax some restrictions outlined in an earlier draft. There was a round of applause from the medical pot advocates and lawyers gathered when committee member and Councilwoman Susan Eggman asked for acknowledgement of the city’s efforts to tailor a fair compromise. The full City Council is scheduled to weigh in on the proposed rules late next month, Daniel Thigpen reports in the Stockton Record. (Subscription required.) It will be the second time. [...]
STOCKTON — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot that would put a 2.5 percent tax on sales at medical marijuana dispensaries. The measure also would levy a 10 percent tax for all other marijuana businesses, the Stockton Record reports — but that’s all it reports on its website unless you’re a subscriber. ========= For a peek at the ballot measure, click here and then click on Agenda Item 8.04. Update: Here’s the rest of the Record’s story after going through a cumbersome registration process. Most readers won’t [...]
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