Court orders Ontario dispensary to close

"We made the landlord aware of the kind of operation that was there," he said. "The collective didn't handle their operations properly, and they ought to move on."

News of the agreement comes after Superior Court Judge David Williams earlier in the day granted the city's request to temporarily shut down the dispensary for violating the Municipal Code.

Late Wednesday, the dispensary was closed by city code enforcement, and it did not reopen on Thursday.

Both parties will be back in court Nov. 8 when the judge is expected to decide whether to permanently shut down the facility. Until then, the dispensary is not allowed to reopen.

"Obviously, it was the right decision from the courts," Councilman Alan Wapner said. "We clearly do not want this in our community."

An ordinance passed nearly five years ago prohibits marijuana dispensaries in Ontario.

James DeAguilera, the attorney for CanCare Collective, which operates the dispensary, said he will file an appeal with the 4th District Court of Appeal as early as today.

"What we have is an operation that is dispensing medication to qualified patients. What harm is being done with AIDS and cancer patients receiving medications?" he said.

DeAguilera said he was upset that he was not given enough time to prepare for Thursday morning's hearing, after only learning about the proceeding on Wednesday afternoon.

Late Wednesday, the dispensary was red-tagged by Ontario code enforcement officials for fire code violations, said City Manager Chris Hughes.

Code-enforcement officials said the facility did not have an exit sign at the back end of the building or a fire extinguisher, DeAguilera said.

Initially, city officials filed the restraining order against both the landlord and owners of the collective, but the landlord was dropped after Thursday's agreement, said Laura Crane, an attorney for Ontario.

DeAguilera has defended two dispensaries in Colton - G3 Holistic and Organic Garden Collective - against being shut down.

In June, the 4th District Court of Appeal delayed Superior Court preliminary injunctions against G3 Holistic and Organic Garden Collective. In the ruling, the judge said state law allows medical-marijuana dispensaries and that evidence in court has not determined them to be a nuisance.

"There is no evidence that it has had an adverse effect to the community," DeAguilera said.

On Sept. 30, owners of the Ontario dispensary sued the city after they were denied a request for a business license.

The lawsuit claims the city ordinance is in violation of state law and does not uphold the U.S. Constitution in regards to due process.

Attorneys for the city filed a cross complaint against the operator on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the City Council directed staff members "to take any action necessary" to shut down the dispensary.