Opponents of Gilroy's medical marijuana dispensary are gathering signatures to present to the City Council next week, while MediLeaf claims it has nearly 500 Gilroy members.
Meanwhile, police have taken a few reports during the last few weeks of medical cannabis being found around youths, although none have been tied to MediLeaf.
It is still unknown whether Judge Mary Jo Levinger will grant the city an injunction to close down MediLeaf on Dec. 14, but one thing is certain: The dispensary will continue to be a hot topic in Gilroy in the weeks to come.
"What's bothering me is that (MediLeaf) is dividing Gilroy, and now they're dividing the City Council," said Karin Clements, president of the Glen View Elementary School Parent Club.
Clements said this week that she had gathered 95 signatures of people who supported the City Council's decision to close the dispensary. Las Animas Elementary School Parent Club President Lisa Correnti had authored the petition and also was gathering signatures, Clements said. The petition will be presented to the City Council on Monday.
MediLeaf will be the topic of discussion once again at this week's council meeting, as Councilman Craig Gartman has asked that the council discuss whether the city has given MediLeaf due process.
Gartman, who supported an ordinance that would have regulated medical cannabis dispensaries, contends that city staff have overstepped their boundaries by refusing to grant MediLeaf a business license outright rather than allowing the planning commission and the City Council to decide on the matter. He also believes the city needs to be more open in its dealings with MediLeaf. Gartman joined council members Perry Woodward and Peter Arellano members in boycotting a Nov. 16 closed session about litigation against the dispensary because he thought that information regarding zoning and licensing issues should have been discussed publicly.
The council members who attended the meeting approved a resolution calling for the city attorney to take legal action to shut down the dispensary. In response, one of MediLeaf's directors, Goyko "Batzi" Kuburovich, has written a letter to Gilroy City Council members alleging that the council had violated the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state law that aims to ensure that public matters are discussed publicly, as well as the city's Open Government Ordinance.
City Attorney Linda Callon has said the matters discussed in the closed session all related to litigation and therefore could all be legally discussed in private.
Kuburovich did not return calls seeking comment this week. However, MediLeaf ombudsman Eric Madigan said the collective has about 650 members and that nearly 500 are from Gilroy.
Legal notices indicate that the home of Kuburovich and his wife and fellow director Patricia Kuburovich went into foreclosure in July. However, Madigan said it will have no impact on the finances of the collective, which is owned by its members.
Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner said this week that she has asked officers to report any specific problems related to MediLeaf. So far, she said she has not heard of any crime-related issues.
MediLeaf's cannabis comes in bar-coded bags, Madigan said, so it is easily identifiable.
Meanwhile, police say they have had to contend with a few issues regarding medical cannabis landing in the hands of youths during the past week.
On Nov. 25, police arrested 21-year-old Lino Ramirez Ortiz and four male youths on the 600 block of Sherwood Drive after a probation officer noticed them smoking marijuana inside a parked vehicle, Sgt. Jim Gillio said. The cannabis was found inside a jar that was labeled "For Medicinal Use Only" and the words "Bubba Kush Indica 3.5 grams #120." The youths also were found with alcohol, Gillio said.
Madigan said Ortiz, who was arrested last week, is not a MediLeaf member, and the local cooperative's marijuana never comes in jars or plastic containers.
Police also arrested 20-year-old Gilroy resident Stephen French from Salinas on Thursday who initially said that marijuana found within his vehicle was used by his father for medicinal purposes before he finally admitted it was his own, Gillio said.
In another instance, police responded to a loud party on the 7400 block of Rogers Lane early Sunday, where youths were found using alcohol and marijuana. A 29-year-old man in the apartment was found with medicinal cannabis from an Oakland dispensary, but Gillio said there was no proof that it was the same marijuana that the youths had been using.
A few concerned residents also reported that a first-grade teacher had found an empty bag of medicinal marijuana from the Santa Clara-based Angel's Care Collective this week. However, principal Scott Otteson could not be reached for comment this week.
Madigan indicated dispensaries lower the amount of drug-related crimes by taking marijuana out of the hands of criminals.
"We're bringing down the marijuana-related incidents," he said.
Jonathan Partridge Jonathan Partridge covers City Hall for The Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7109 or e-mail him at jpartridge@svnewspapers.com.
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