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Judges ruling favors marijuana dispensary
By Peter Jones
Published: 12.30.09
An Arapahoe County judge has granted a recently closed Centennial medical marijuana dispensarys preliminary injunction, meaning the business may be allowed to reopen as its lawsuit against the city proceeds.
CannaMart has alleged that the City of Centennial violated the constitutional rights of its clients when it served the retailer with a cease-and-desist order in November.
In 2000, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing medicinal use of marijuana, though its use remains illegal under federal law. The city has argued that its land-development code prohibits all uses that are illegal under federal or state law.
But on Dec. 30, Judge Christopher Cross said the city had no right to use federal law as a rationale for denying a right protected under the Colorado Constitution.
The city has, in effect, used a federal law by serving the cease-and-desist order, he said. ... Centennial cannot use the potential violation of federal law to order a business operating under our state constitution to [close].
It is unclear how the citys recently-passed six-month moratorium on dispensaries would affect matters.
By Peter Jones
Published: 12.30.09
An Arapahoe County judge has granted a recently closed Centennial medical marijuana dispensarys preliminary injunction, meaning the business may be allowed to reopen as its lawsuit against the city proceeds.
CannaMart has alleged that the City of Centennial violated the constitutional rights of its clients when it served the retailer with a cease-and-desist order in November.
In 2000, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing medicinal use of marijuana, though its use remains illegal under federal law. The city has argued that its land-development code prohibits all uses that are illegal under federal or state law.
But on Dec. 30, Judge Christopher Cross said the city had no right to use federal law as a rationale for denying a right protected under the Colorado Constitution.
The city has, in effect, used a federal law by serving the cease-and-desist order, he said. ... Centennial cannot use the potential violation of federal law to order a business operating under our state constitution to [close].
It is unclear how the citys recently-passed six-month moratorium on dispensaries would affect matters.