Politics & Government

City Attorney Sues Highland Park Pot Shop Owners

Members of Highland Park Patient Collective plan to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Mar Vista, which would be illegal under Proposition D.

By City News Service

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer filed a lawsuit Thursday against members of a legal Highland Park-based medical marijuana collective who are looking to open a mega-outpost in Mar Vista.

The lawsuit targets owners of the Highland Park Patient Collective, who plan to open a dispensary at 3472 S. Centinela Ave., inside a long-vacant, 7,565-square-foot building that once housed Mrs. Gooch's Natural Food Market.

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The lawsuit names several individuals, including Justin Keirn, Patrick Murphy and Harvey Katofsky, along with three companies, Lancaster Villas, LLC, Hypericum Interests, LLC, and Palmdale Land Co.

Feuer's lawsuit was lauded by Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin as an “aggressive action.''

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“I stand with Mike in this effort, and I thank him for being a partner in putting our neighborhoods first,'' Bonin said.

Last month, the councilmember, who is a resident of Mar Vista, came to the aid of neighbors who also oppose the shop.

In a letter to Keirn, whose name is on the Mar Vista business lease, Bonin said that while he supports “compassionate care'' and the “legal use'' of medical marijuana, the new shop is illegal under Proposition D, which won voter approval in May.

That measure banned all but 135 dispensaries. The Highland Park Patient Collective was one of the few legal dispensaries allowed to remain open.

If the collective were to open its Mar Vista location, it would be a “slap in the face to residents who voted in good faith to support the measure,'' Bonin wrote in his Oct. 8 letter to Keirn.

“I strongly urge you to drop your plans, or meet the stiff opposition from neighbors, from the community, and from me and my office,'' Bonin told Keirn.

Krein was not immediately available to respond to Bonin' statements and Feuer's attempt to stop the Mar Vista shop from opening.

Feuer is also pursuing misdemeanor charges against property and business owners of more than 50 other medical marijuana dispensaries that he believes are unauthorized under Proposition D.

"My office is working diligently to uphold the will of the voters in passing Proposition D in May and we are collaborating with the Los Angeles Police Department and Building and Safety to aggressively enforce the law,'' Feuer said.

Under the law, property owners who lease or rent out their space to medical marijuana businesses can be slapped with a fine or sent to jail.


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