By Jayna Anderson
IG: @snowleoppy
Recently, an unsafe and unlicensed Marijuana Dispensary in Lemon Grove was raided and shut down.
Unsafe due to no electrical permits or plumbing permits obtained prior to construction of the bathrooms or addition that was built.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported:
“The building has been declared unsafe, unfit for human occupancy and a public nuisance by Building Official Bill Elizarraras and Fire Marshal Chris Jensen,” officials said in a statement.
Days before the raid, a notice of unfit occupancy was posted, and the owner had apparently received many notices and citations to clear the building.
As a result, an “undisclosed” amount of marijuana, cannabis products, cash, and computers were taken by police
Yes, this was an unlicensed Marijuana Dispensary, so of course, it was treated as a drug bust. They did not have the proper permits or licenses to operate that business in that building. It costs a lot of money, time, and energy to obtain permits. We see these problems with companies all of the time. They want to serve their communities, but at what cost? When illegal dispensaries are given notice of an unfit building, my advice would be to evacuate. Why put your business and the cannabis community on the line?
I do have my doubts about how the police force would treat a legal dispensary that had improper building codes on it. Here’s why…
Small Bar, in San Diego, has its outdoor space shut down this past year for a lack of permit for the outdoor patio. In this circumstance, the patio had been in existence before she purchased the building, so she assumed it was properly permitted. She has reapplied for a permit, and with it’s passing was able to re-open the patio.
A quick comparison, the outer space of both locations were lacking proper permits. Small Bar was able to close that portion of their business while they re-applied for a permit. The dispensary in San Diego, however, had additions to it that were lacking permits on electrical and plumbing. Could they have potentially been able to shut down this portion of the building, while re-applying for the proper permits? Did the city know this was an illegal dispensary? If so, this must be why a drug-bust style raid was conducted on the business.
Did the owner have a medical card? If so, then there is a legal limit of how much marijuana could be on the property.
I can swing this hammer in a number of ways. But what I really want to do is get everyone thinking. About why they go into business, what the bigger picture is, and how instances like this go into the books further affecting other businesses do.
