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US: Med pot operator unfazed by ruling
Will Bigham Daily Bulletin
Wednesday 10 Jan 2007 POMONA - The operator of Claremont's medical marijuana dispensary was found guilty Tuesday of operating without a license, but the business will remain open because the city did not seek a court injunction forcing it to close. Claremont officials had been hopeful that the ruling would effectively force Darrell Kruse, the operator of the dispensary, to shut down, and some expressed dismay that the city's four-month battle with the dispensary would continue. Mayor Peter Yao said he was "definitely not" satisfied, adding that he had hoped the court "would shut him down and allow us to carefully plan out the whole process. This is definitely not something that we had planned on." The court's decision indicates clearly that the city's assertion that Kruse was required to obtain a business license was correct, City Manager Jeff Parker said. But because Kruse intends to stay open despite the ruling, Parker said he "is basically telling the judge, `I don't care what you do to me."' After Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony M. Peters ordered Kruse to pay a $121 fine for the infraction charge, Kruse, who represented himself in the case, was visibly pleased with the result. Though the ruling will not immediately force him to shut down, Kruse lamented that the judge's determination that he must have a business license does not bode well for other area dispensaries - one in Norco, and one in Pomona - that are locking horns with those cities over the same issue. Kruse serves nearly 400 patients at Claremont All-Natural Nutrition Aids Buyers Information Service (CANNABIS), which he opened on Sept. 15 in the 600 block of South Indian Hill Boulevard. On Sept. 29, the City Council passed a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries because the city had been approached by several people who wished to open such an operation. Kruse's business was unknown to the city before announcing to a stunned City Council the night of the moratorium debate that he had already opened. The city later extended its moratorium an additional 10 1/2 months and has the option of extending it one year further. Once the moratorium expires, the council's options will range from banning the dispensaries completely to regulating a limited number in specific areas of the city, City Attorney Sonia Carvalho said. In a months-long battle that followed passage of the moratorium, the city sent several letters ordering Kruse to shut down. When he ignored those demands, the city took the unusual step of citing him for operating without a business license. As the conflict between Kruse and the city grew, press reports fueled a traffic increase at the dispensary, which had only two patients when it first opened. At the judge's suggestion, Kruse met privately Tuesday before the proceeding with Assistant City Attorney Andy Morris to try to come to an out-of-court agreement. The attempt at finding middle ground went nowhere, and as Kruse re-entered the courtroom, heated after the discussion, he said to Morris, "I'm going to make Swiss cheese out of your moratorium." Morris made the initial remarks to the judge, stating directly that the city requires businesses to obtain a business license, and Kruse was not issued one because the city has no code to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. In his rebuttal, Kruse spoke at length about the legitimacy of his business, reminding the judge that the medical use of marijuana is legal in California, as established by Proposition 215, which was passed by voters in 1996. Assembly Bill 420, passed in 2004, specifically allows for dispensaries to legally distribute the drug for medical uses. Though Peters confirmed the city's position that Kruse needs a business license, he sympathized with Kruse's effort to distribute the drug for medical use. "As a son whose father has cancer and is in severe pain, I can sympathize with you," he said. Staff writer Will Bigham can be reached by e-mail at will.bigham@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-8553. http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_4982429
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