Two San Jose medical marijuana clubs announced this afternoon that they’ve filed a lawsuit against San Jose’s City Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Department and its director, Joseph Horwedel.
The lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court Tuesday by the San Jose Cannabis Buyer’s Collective and Pharmer’s Health Center Cooperative. It claims that Horwedel’s efforts to close local pot clubs because of zoning issues are in violation of California’s Medical Marijuana Program Act.
“We’re staunchly defending the rights of our members and of all medical cannabis patients in San Jose,” Dave Hodges of the Buyer’s Collective said in a press release.
In January, Horwedel’s department sent out zoning compliance orders to several local pot clubs, threatening fines of $2,500 per day if they continued to operate in their locations. According to the Hodges, their landlord obtained an injunction against the collective because of Horwedel’s order. That forced them out of their original location at 373 S. Monroe Street, he says.
“My job is to enforce the codes of our city of San Jose,” Horwedel told San Jose Inside in response to the lawsuit. He said he has not yet seen the press release and declined to comment further.
The pot clubs’ lawsuit was filed after San Jose city attorneys refused in court to comply with a request that the city cease its crackdown on local pot clubs. The lawsuit claims Horwedel is illegally coercing landlords renting to medical cannabis collectives, under threat of hefty fines, to evict the businesses from the buildings they occupy.
The Pharmers cooperative says they were also evicted from their location on 7246 Sharon Dr. as a result of Horwedel’s compliance order.
“What the city did is unconscionable,” said Pharmers’ Andy Schwaderer. “Putting pressure on landlords to the point where they felt the need to seek eviction is simply wrong.”
The suit will be heard in court on May 7.
Pharmers and The Buyer’s Collective are encouraging supporters to protest the San Jose City Planning Department May 4 at 12pm at 170 West San Carlos Street in San Jose.
Hi Jessica,
I’d like to clarify two points.
1) Our former landlord at 373 South Monroe, got a restraining order against the business because of Joseph Horwedel’s letter.
2) Pharmers Collective has not been evicted YET… The lawyer for Pharmers landlord halted the eviction procedure while he waits for the results of this case.
Best Regards,
Dave Hodges
I’d like to know what the zoning issues he cited are.
“My job is to enforce the codes of our city of San Jose THAT FIT MY AGENDA,” Horwedel told San Jose Inside in response to the lawsuit. He said he has not yet seen the press release and declined to comment further.
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There. I fixed that quote for from him.
Dear Dave,
The city has zoning ordinances for bars. Don’t you think we have a right to zone for doper bars like yours?
WillowGlenDad-
I hope you’re not comparing cannabis collectives to bars. on site consumption of medical cannabis is prohibited at every collective I’ve visited.
A more rational comparison would be to a liquor store, which also prohibits on site consumption.
With that in mind, consider that the city of San Jose has over 1300 locations to acquire alcohol, and you’re advocating the eviction of one out of about 25 cannabis collectives.
I fully support empowering the community to decide where collectives should be permitted, but a knee-jerk reaction from our over burdened code enforcement officers doesn’t seem like the right idea.
Jason,
It’s interesting that you so easily compare liquor stores to the “medical” cannabis collectives. It isn’t medical at all. Just a place for dopers to get their drugs. Since I’ve never attended one of these facilities, I can’t say but I have seen news videos of places in Oaksterdam where people were using some kind of inhaler on-site and I have read of places in San Francisco where people congregated on big old couches puffing away.
They could be getting busted for heroin! That would really be bad now wouldn’t it! Unless you were lucky enough to get off on a technicality.
Dear Code Enforcement of California and Everywhere Earth
Please have mercy on respecting our medical cannabis need to have dispensaries that provide medical cannabis. This is my and other severely ill patients needs for peace medical cannabis. I am extremely ill and it is only just to keep and protect the peace and protect serve all people. I also have pain moving. I need dispensary close to home. Medical Cannabis treats and heals my body peace my living.
Have mercy on me and all fellow harmless, peaceful, respectable, with legal rights medical cannabis.
Med Cannabis Living Male Patient,Mr.JohnMatthewFreedman