[420 Girl]

As a medical marijuana debate swirls in Walnut Creek, leaders of the city's first dispensary — apparently operating for the past few months — refuse to shut down even in the face of mounting city fines.

The C3 Collective, a nonprofit private medical marijuana collective based in Walnut Creek, can be fined $500 per day for violating the city's zoning code, according to city officials. The violation: The collective, which city regulators would consider a pharmacy, is operating in an area zoned for office/residential, said City Attorney Paul Valle-Riestra.

To fine the business, the city's code enforcement officer checks to see if C3 is still operating. The city has cited the business three times. The fines started at $100, then went to $250 and have peaked at $500 per citation.

C3 is appealing the violations.

Brian Hyman, executive director and CEO of C3, said he isn't closing because he is "abiding by the law" and that his main focus is providing medical marijuana, counseling and education for patients.

"If the company loses money then the company loses money," he said.

Though Hyman wouldn't comment on the number of patients in the collective, their ailments include glaucoma to HIV, he said.

Last year, state Attorney General Jerry Brown released medical-marijuana guidelines aimed at fleshing out the state's 1996 Compassionate Use Act. The guidelines say a collective should be "closed circuit," where

the marijuana must be grown by patients or their caregivers. At C3, members who grow marijuana donate it to the collective, who then are "compensated," usually with money, said Hyman. Other members are given medical marijuana as donations, and the recipients then donate cash or their time to the collective. The group is working to set up other community volunteer opportunities for its members and others, said Hyman.


"This collective was established, located and is providing a greatly needed service not only for its members but the community at large," he said.

The collective, at 1291 Oakland Blvd., has mirror windows that don't allow people to look inside. Once inside, a desk with a computer serves as a check-in station in a building monitored by several video cameras. The lobby area is tidy, with taupe walls, green couches, modern furniture and photos of aspen trees adorning the walls and windows.

Both police and the city's code enforcement officer continue to monitor the collective, Valle-Riestra said.

City leaders could go to court and seek an injunction to, in essence, shut down the dispensary. The city has not taken that step. Similarly, the collective could apply for a zoning change, but has not done so, said Valle-Riestra.

The violations are not related to the 45-day moratorium the City Council passed Aug. 18 banning medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The discussion on medical marijuana facilities will continue at the Sept. 15 City Council meeting. The moratorium expires Oct. 1, but the council can extend it as it investigates what to do about dispensaries.

"Just because we are imposing the moratorium doesn't mean we are absolutely going to prohibit it," said Valle-Riestra.

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