Centennial Marijuana Lawsuit: Colorado Lawyers Plan To Sue Town Over Medical Pot Restrictions

Update: On Monday morning, Bob Hoban, one of the attorneys bringing forth the suit, discussed some of the details of the case with Westword. Hoban assured that he is confident that the suit will be upheld: "This isn't something we're looking at as a test case, something to throw against the wall to see if it sticks. "It's something where we believe the court is almost compelled to come down on our side because of the constitutional issues at stake."

He also said that precedent for the case has been set in cases involving strip clubs and head shops:

"You can't ban an otherwise lawful use in a city entirely. This goes back to a number of strip-club cases and head-shop-type cases, where you do have to provide a place for those types of businesses to exist. You can't jut ban them entirely -- especially in this case, where you're talking about a constitutional right. That's going to be looked on by the court with pretty high scrutiny."

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A group of Colorado lawyers focusing on medical marijuana is planning on suing the City of Centennial to reopen a marijuana wellness center called CannaMart. According to a press release, the coalition is alleging that Centennial "violated Colorado's Constitution and relevant land use statutes when it forced CannaMart to shut down its operations on October 19."

According to the AP, city officials have not formally reacted to the allegations or the threat of a lawsuit.

CannaMart was closed last month after the City of Centennial moved to ban Medical Marijuana dispensaries

The press release quotes Bob Hoban, one of the attorneys carrying forth the suit, "While Centennial may not like the idea of medical marijuana caregivers providing services to patients within city limits, Colorado law is clear: the city lacks the legal authority to restrict the rights of caregivers and patients in such a way,"

An announcement has been scheduled for 11:00 AM Monday morning.

Read the entire press release below:

20091130_Marijuana

Comments

[CherylShuman]

12:00 AM on 12/01/2009

Robert is such an amazing attorney and advocate for marijuana law reform. I've met him several times through NORML, the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. Both he and his wife Jessica are amazing role models for the movement. As a cancer survivor, legal medical marijuana patient and the Executive Director for the Beverly Hills Chapter of NORML, I'm proud to support their efforts!

Cheryl Shuman
Executive Director
Beverly Hills NORNL
http://www.NORML90210.org

[Runruff]

04:42 PM on 11/30/2009

Aides claim that Nixon drank an Imperial Quart of Glenlivet Scotch every day.

He hated "pot heads"!

We still haven't recovered from his disastrous corporate policies!

Cannabis is still a benign plant that has never hut anyone!

[Nicon]

04:42 PM on 11/30/2009

Medical Marijuana is very much alive in Colorado, The green rush has begun!
We can continue to fight it, or embrace it. Medical Marijuana is now a Part of our Constitution, its here to stay. We can work towards intelligent regulation or keep Medical Marijuana in a gray area and let the green rush continue to benefit everyone but Colorado.

[fumes]

04:24 PM on 11/30/2009

they will be a horrible price to pay..

for all those foolish enough not to invest heavily now..

in: bic lighters.. cheetos (crunchy).. chocolate (leonidas and schokinag)..

oh and captain crunch (original)!

[HappyHorner]

02:53 PM on 11/30/2009

Cannabis patients in Lake Forest, California could sue their city government for prohibiting medical cannabis collectives. We support NORML so we expect they will assist us in time but if not maybe the patients should organize, retain an attorney and consider suing the Southern California city and possibly recall its elected officials.

[DBtv]

01:03 PM on 11/30/2009

Jaunuary 1, possession is legal in Breckenridge.

Great snowboarding and awesome weed.

Brilliant tourism strategy.

[skeeterp]

05:27 PM on 11/30/2009

only good mountain vail resorts owns is beaver creek.

[RevRayGreen]

12:08 PM on 11/30/2009

Colorado will be the first state to completely repeal ADULT marijuana prohibiton in the US.......then it's up to the Feds............