[420 Girl]

The door is locked and a closed sign has been hung directly below the small placard announcing the North County's only medical marijuana dispensary.

Wishing You Wellness, located at the north end of the Evergreen Shopping Center on Orcutt Road in Orcutt, opened its doors about two weeks ago to very little fanfare.

However, word of the dispensary leaked out last week to mixed public opinion and just as suddenly the pot clinic disappeared.

"One day they were here and the next they were gone," said Connie Jones, owner of the Mutt Hut, a dog grooming business next door to Wishing You Wellness.

Owner Carol Boston of the nearby Evergreen Video said she thought the marijuana dispensary closed because there had been too much attention.

"The owner said it was because of the permitting process, but I think it was just too much pressure," Boston said. "It's just sad because people really needed it. Now they have to go back to driving down to Santa Barbara."

The owner of Wishing You Wellness was told late last week that the county Planning Commission would need to make a determination of approval for the facility to begin operations, according to planning staff.

Since then, the property owners of the Evergreen Shopping Center decided to terminate the month-to-month tenancy, said Dianne Black, county director of development services.

It is a crime under federal and state law to manufacture, distribute, dispense or possess marijuana, but the state makes an exception for the use of pot for medical purposes with a doctor's prescription.

No one answered the door at the marijuana dispensary Wednesday and the co-owner of the Evergreen Shopping Center, Paul Prather, did not return several calls requesting a comment.

In the time since California legalized medical marijuana dispensaries, several that were established on the Central Coast have shut down after their operations were disrupted by raids by federal agents.

Last month, however, there was a significant shift in federal policy toward medical use of marijuana. It was announced that the Justice Department will no longer prosecute pot dispensaries that operate legally under state law, an about-face from the policies of the Bush administration.

However, several Central Coast cities, such as Santa Maria, Buellton, Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach have passed ordinances banning medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits.


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