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Judge to Rule on Medical Marijuana in Fresno
10/8/09 | CBS47 |

A Fresno judge issued a tentative ruling on Thursday in the case against medical marijuana dispensaries in Fresno.

The City of Fresno does not want medical marijuana shops in Fresno, so it filed a temporary restraining order, seeking to shut them down.

On Wednesday, the judge agreed and is expected to make his ruling official on Thursday.

The order will essentially shut down all nine medical marijuana shops in Fresno for about two weeks. That's when the shop owners and the city will return to court, to begin arguing whether the decision should be made permanent.

The city says zoning laws require all businesses to comply with state and federal laws. Medical marijuana, while recognized under certain conditions by the state, is still illegal at all times by the federal government.

Assistant City Attorney Doug Sloan said, “This case is not about the policy decision as to what the law ought to be, this case is about enforcing the existing law.”

Sean Dwyer, owner of California Herbal Relief Center, says his shop alone has about 800 patients and that they are the ones that will now be forced to go out of town or turn to illegal drug dealers to get their medicine.

Lawyers representing the medical marijuana shops say they do not plan to fight the temporary restraining order but say they will fight any effort to permanently shut them down.

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