Three Westwood marijuana dispensaries close
By Frank Shyong
Nov. 1, 2009 11:10 p.m.
CORRECTION: The eviction notice stating that owners Jeremy Thomas and Justin Klein were operating with an invalid lease was taped to the front door of Westwood Healing Co-op.
Three of Westwood’s five cannabis dispensaries have closed for unstated reasons.
Westwood Caregivers, California Caregivers Association and Westwood Healing Co-op have all ceased operations within the last three weeks. However, The Farmacy on Gayley Avenue and Nirvana Pharmacy on Westwood Boulevard are still operating.
The closings occur on the heels of last month’s news that District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich planned to prosecute all cannabis dispensaries which opened under the Los Angeles City Council moratorium.
However, it is not confirmed that any of Westwood’s dispensaries were targeted in the district attorney’s efforts.
A few days after the announcement, the moratorium was voided by a California Superior Court judge on the grounds that it was illegally extended. The issue is being forwarded to the Los Angeles City Council.
Trutanich’s office has submitted a measure to the city council which would prohibit the sale of medical marijuana and would force most of the dispensaries which opened up under the moratorium to close and bar them from reopening for six months.
Lev, the owner and manager of Nirvana Pharmacy, said he will continue to run his business until authorities force him to shut it down.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” said Lev, who didn’t want to be identified by his last name. “The situation was stabilizing, but now it’s shaky again.”
Calls to the other dispensary owners were not returned, but an eviction notice taped to the front door of Westwood Healing Co-op states that owners Jeremy Thomas and Justin Klein were operating with an invalid lease.
The city council is expected to vote on an official ordinance sometime this month.
