Lake Forest asks Supreme Court to review pot ruling

LAKE FOREST – City officials on Tuesday announced that they will seek the California Supreme Court's review on a ruling by the Fourth District Court of Appeal that last week said cities cannot shut down a medical marijuana dispensary that cultivates its own marijuana. "It's a decision that impacts every city," said Jeff Dunn, an attorney representing Lake Forest in its efforts to clear nearly 40 medical marijuana dispensaries from the city over the last two years. "It's the only decision that says a city cannot ban a dispensary for being a dispensary. It's the only court case that has gone in this direction."

California Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Medical Marijuana Cases

The California Supreme Court issued an order today indicating its intent to review two controversial medical marijuana cases that have resulted in the suspension of several local dispensary ordinances across the state. As a result of today’s order, Pack v. City of Long Beach and City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Ctr., Inc. have both been vacated in anticipation of the High Court’s ruling. The Pack decision held that some dispensary regulations may be preempted by federal law and the Riverside decision held that localities could legally ban distribution altogether.