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Jan I. Goldsmith: San Diego City Attorney
Jan I. Goldsmith: San Diego City Attorney
Jan I. Goldsmith
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 2, 2015
Contact: Gerry Braun, Director of Communications: [email protected] (619) 533-4782
1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1620, San Diego, California 92101-4188 (619) 236-6220
San Diego residents by offering a reasonable level of access to businesses that offer a positive community
experience.
Due to past differences between political interests and the voter established laws, the cannabis industry
once operated like the Wild West, but more recently established regulations allow a path for
compliance. Rogue operators put a blemish on both the municipal leaders who have developed the
current ordinance, and on marijuana businesses working through the process to be responsible members
of the community, Boudreau said.
ARMA and local officials work together to support a path to compliance for businesses looking to serve the
needs of San Diego residents. (For more information about the Alliance for Responsible Medicinal Access,
contact Boudreau at [email protected].)
Since September 2011, 290 illegal dispensaries have been closed through enforcement action by the City
Attorneys Office. Most operations close once ordered to do so by a judge, but a handful have continued to
operate in defiance of the courts order. SoCal Holistic Health was among these offenders.
The City Attorneys Office sought an injunction and penalties against Murphy and SoCal Holistic Health in
December 2014 for operating without proper permits and in an area not zoned for marijuana dispensaries. The
dispensary was ordered closed in February 2015, but resisted closing despite police enforcement.
Earlier this year, Murphy and SoCal filed a cross-complaint against the City, claiming that enforcement of City
zoning laws violated their constitutional rights. Last month, Judge Taylor dismissed the cross-complaint and
grant the Citys motion for summary judgment.
Enforcement action against the illegal dispensary was conducted by Deputy City Attorney Jon Dwyer of the
Code Enforcement Unit of the Community Justice Division.
After the cross-complaint was filed, the litigation was taken over by Deputy City Attorney M. Travis Phelps of
the Civil Litigation Division.
Illegal dispensary operations at 1150 Garnet Avenue predate SoCal, and include San Diego Organic Wellness,
which was ordered closed in 2014. In December 2014, landlord John I. Nobel agreed to pay a $250,000 civil
penalty for leasing properties in Pacific Beach, North Park and the Midway District to illegal dispensaries.
The stipulated judgment against Nobel was the largest previously obtained by the City in a dispensary
enforcement action. The courts have awarded the City approximately $3.5 million in judgments on dispensary
cases; the funds are used to enhance future code enforcement efforts.
We believe there are other dispensaries operating illegally in San Diego beyond those that have been
referred to us for prosecution, Goldsmith said. When cases on those or other dispensaries are
investigated and brought to us by the San Diego Police Department or Code Enforcement Division, we
will close them down and obtain monetary sanctions.
Complaints regarding marijuana dispensaries may be referred to the Code Enforcement Division of the City at
(619) 236-5500.
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Recent City Attorney media releases can be accessed on the San Diego City Attorneys home page located on the Internet at http://www.sannet.gov/city-attorney
1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1620, San Diego, California 92101-4188 (619) 236-6220