San Bernardino nursery goes to court for right to grow medical marijuana

The Sun reports a nursery is going to court in a bid to grow medical marijuana in San Bernardino after being denied a business license by the city.

The San Bernardino medical marijuana lawyers encourage growers, collectives and patients to continue to fight against needlessly restrictive city and county ordinances. A number of court rulings have recently sided with patients and collectives, but often only benefit those who choose to stand and fight.

In this case, Route 66 Nursery filed a complaint in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucagmonga. The nursery applied for a license to operate a private plant nursery for qualified medical marijuana patients and was denied because the city’s zoning ordinance does not permit medical marijuana dispensaries to operate.

The complaint seeks to differentiate between a medical marijuana dispensary and the rights of a private plant nursery. In this case, qualified medical marijuana patients could obtain a plot of land to grow their own medical marijuana.

It is asking for an injunction against the city, forbidding it from enforcing the ordinance; the nursery also wants the city to pay legal costs and other damages. As is the case with many other municipalities in Southern California, the city is apparently ready to spend tax dollars defending such needless intrusion and regulations. The city attorney’s office said it believed the current law to be sound and it would defend the case as it does with other “routine complaints.”

The nursery applied for the license in June and was denied. The complaint alleges that the city’s ordinance violates Proposition 215, which is the medical marijuana ordinance passed by California voters 15 years ago.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP is representing more than a dozen dispensaries in lawsuits over local city and county ordinances in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Call 949-375-4734 for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.