Second Cannabis Club Sues City
Owner Says He's Unfairly Being Put out of Business
In a lawsuit closely mirroring the complaint filed by owners of Green Well, the operator of Green Light medical marijuana dispensary has sued the City of Santa Barbara for rendering a decision that means death for his business.
The complaint — filed late last month in federal court — accuses city officials of blatantly trampling upon the constitutional and vested rights of Green Light owner Sefton Graham when they adopted a revised dispensary ordinance in June that retroactively made the location of his club illegal and subject to closure by January 29, 2011.
Graham’s attorney, Gary Nye, writes in the suit that the city’s decision to disallow pot shops on the 600 block of Olive Street — Green Light is located at 631 Olive Street — was “completely arbitrary,” and that the revised ordinance is therefore illegal as it applies to Green Light and should be set aside. The lawsuit also calls for an injunction on the November ballot initiative that would potentially ban all dispensaries in the city.
