Marijuana Dispensary Ordered to Close Again

A medical marijuana dispensary has been ordered to shut down after being reopened for 13 days.

that it had placed on a, or CMG Outreach, by the city of Murrieta.

CMG co-owner Beth Burns told Patch that they closed the shop, located at 26690 Madison Ave., Suite 103, at 5 p.m. Friday.

"What can we really do but follow the law?" Burns said.

The order to shutdown while CMG appeals the injunction

CMG was intended to be the recipient of a letter from the U.S. Attorney's office, that would serve as a federal order for them to close. However, Burns said that as of Friday, she had not received that letter.

"I have been very confused this week by what has been going on," Burns said by phone.

She said they are appealing the appeals court decision, which means they have two appeals in process now. While open, Burns said they gained 13 to 14 new patients a day, and were serving more than 500 in the community.

"It is their right to choose," Burns said, of the legalization of medical marijuana in California. "Some are really disabled, some are caregivers or parents of underage patients whose children are on Ritalin but they prefer the effects (of marijuana). They feel it is more beneficial."

Other customers are caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's, she said.

"It helps them sleep; otherwise, they'd be up."

In the meantime, the city of Murrieta, which has had a ban on dispensaries since 2005, is poised to vote on an urgency ordinance that would place a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries. The urgency ordinance is meant to prohibit any dispensaries from opening or operating in the city while it works to strengthen the language of its current ordinance, according to a staff report by Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman.

The urgency ordinance needs the approval of four of five councilmembers to pass.

The city of Murrieta's ban on dispensaries in 2005 made it the first city in Riverside County to establish such an ordinance.