Big News From the Court of Appeal: Cities May Not Ban Collectives

Recently, the California Court of Appeal in Santa Ana issued its opinion in City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective. In this case, the Court of Appeal ruled that cites cannot outright ban medical marijuana collectives. The Court specifically held, “We conclude local governments may not prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries altogether.”

The Court also ruled that collectives cannot be deemed as per se, categorical nuisances for violating city and county zoning ordinances. Under the City of Lake Forest’s ban, a medical marijuana dispensary was defined as a nuisance, which could then be abated by filing a lawsuit against the collective for being a public nuisance. Indeed, lawsuits like this are presently being filed by many cities in Southern California, including Los Angeles and Riverside. However, the Court in Lake Forest stated this was wrong, and held that the California Legislature had also concluded otherwise. “Because the City’s ban directly contradicts state law, it is preempted and furnishes no valid basis for a preliminary injunction in the City’s favor.” This case can be used by collectives who are currently fighting in court battles with their local municipalities.

The Lake Forest court further held that the Medical Marijuana Program Act “exempts qualified medical marijuana patients and their primary caregivers not only from criminal prosecution for authorized collective or cooperative activities, but also from nuisance abatement proceedings.” As a result, the Court found that our Legislature “has determined the activities it authorized at collective or cooperative cultivation sites, including a dispensary function, do not constitute a nuisance.”

The other major ruling in the Lake Forest case was that dispensaries have to be located at the grow site. In other words, you cannot have a storefront that just dispenses without growing on site. This will be difficult for most collectives to comply with, however, if more landlords become willing to lease larger warehouse-type locations, this could ultimately be doable if the Supreme Court of California concurs with this ruling.

Right now, the Lake Forest case is binding on all lower courts in the state. Collectives may wish to apply for business licenses and then sue the city if one is not issued, pursuant to the Lake Forest ruling. However, there is also a strong likelihood that the Supreme Court of California could decide to take this case up on review, as it has done with the Pack v. Long Beach case. If that were to happen, then the case would no longer be good law and could not be relied on by collectives or cities in court.

Attorney Damian Nassiri is the founding partner of the Cannabis Law Group, a law firm dedicated to the rights of patients, collectives and growers. His firm offers consultations and nonprofit incorporations to those who are interested in starting their own medical marijuana collective. You can reach Cannabis Law Group at (714) 937-2050 or visit the law firm’s website at www.cannabislawgroup.com.