A federal court has rejected the City of Oakland’s last-ditch attempt to save the nation’s largest medical marijuana dispensary.
In its decision Thursday, the three judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that the city did have standing to intervene in the government’s civil forfeiture suit against Harborside Health Center. Still, the panel concluded, the U.S. Justice Department’s push to shut down the dispensary was also justified.
"The end result is Oakland and its 400,000 residents have no recourse,” said Attorney Cedric Chao, who represented Oakland in the suit. Despite the impending hit to the city’s tax revenue, “they cannot seek relief in the courts,” he added.
As to whether or not the city will ask a larger panel of the 9th Circuit to review the case, Chao said the city had not yet decided. He will now confer with city officials to determine their next move; if the court’s decision stands after further appeal, the forfeiture proceedings will reopen in federal district court.
Harborside Health Center claims to be the largest seller of medical marijuana in the world, with a roster of more than 200,000 customers. Its clashes with federal government officials has even earned it a feature on the Discovery Channel’s reality-documentary series “Weed Wars.”
Read more about Thursday’s decision here.