California, Newport Beach

[palmspringsbum]

Monday, April 17, 2006

Newport Beach may extend medical marijuana ban
Officials want to wait for the the outcome of litigation related to the legality of pot cooperatives.

By JEFF OVERLEY
The Orange County Register

NEWPORT BEACH – The City Council next week will consider extending a temporary ban on medical marijuana distribution centers, officials said today.

The moratorium, first adopted last May, is set to expire next month. Officials want to keep the prohibition in place for another year as they await the outcome of litigation related to the legality of medical marijuana cooperatives.

Newport Beach was one of several Orange County cities, including Lake Forest and Huntington Beach, that adopted pot shop bans last year. Some worry that the clubs, which dole marijuana out to patients with doctor approval, attract crime.

A 1996 voter-approved California law allows such facilities, but the U.S. Supreme Court in June said federal agents could raid pot dispensaries.

Newport wants to keep its temporary ban in place as it awaits the outcome of other court cases that ask whether cities are compelled to allow the clubs because of state law, said Aaron Harp, Newport assistant city attorney.

A half-dozen people have inquired about opening pot cooperatives in Newport, but no formal plans have been submitted, Harp said.

The City Council will consider extending the ban at its April 25 meeting.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT US: (714) 445-6683 or joverley@ocregister.com

[palmspringsbum]

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sober-living house files federal complaint against Newport Beach


<span class=postbigbold>Pacific Shores Recovery says temporary ban on recovery homes is unlawful.</span>

By JEFF OVERLEY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

NEWPORT BEACH – Pacific Shores Recovery, a sober-living-home operator sued by the city last year for allegedly violating a temporary ban on recovery houses, said today that it has filed a federal complaint accusing the city of discrimination.

In the complaint, the company says no treatment or professional services are offered at the Orange Avenue sober-living home, making it exempt from the moratorium.

James Markman, a private attorney working for the city, scoffed at the lawsuit, saying rehab homes were allowed to seek exemptions from the moratorium, but none applied.

Elected leaders in April enacted a temporary ban on recovery houses, and Pacific Shores' rehab home opened afterward, according to the city lawsuit. Pacific Shores says in its complaint that the house has been open since 2004.

Before the moratorium took effect last spring, city officials said they were investigating activity at the house, which was visibly undergoing construction.

Pacific Shores attorney Steven Polin said he had no details on the construction. In any event, the moratorium, which was rescinded last month, was "plainly illegal."

"You can't enact legislation and say that a certain group of people can't live within the city," Polin said. "What would the reaction be if, instead of (recovering addicts), the moratorium was directed at racial minorities or ethnic minorities?"

Markman couldn't cite any other examples of cities in the country enacting similar moratoriums, but added that there are "not very many cities in the position that Newport Beach is in," with its estimated 80-100 recovery houses.

Such bans have been used extensively to briefly prohibit other operations, such as medical marijuana dispensaries, giving governments time to craft rules allowing them to better regulate such operations.

If the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds merit in the complaint, it could be forwarded to the Justice Department, which could level civil penalties against Newport Beach, Polin said.


Contact the writer: 714-445-6683 or joverley@ocregister.com