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Nation’s Largest Marijuana Dispensary Avoids Federal Shutdown, Harborside Health Center Open To Sell Cannabis

By Coburn Palmer
Published on: 03:43 PST, May 4, 2016

The country’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, with more than 100,000 cannabis patients, avoided a four-year long shutdown effort by the federal government on Tuesday.

Harborside Health Center in Oakland has faced closure since 2012, when the federal government attempted to shut down the marijuana dispensary and seize the buildings that house the business, councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan told the SFGate.

“As of today, Harborside Health Center is in the clear and will no longer have to worry about a looming raid. Supporters are pleased to hear that the case has been dropped so that patients suffering from chronic pain can have peace of mind that they will be able to get their medicine through safe dispensaries, such as Harborside Health Center.”

Calling the cannabis center a “marijuana superstore,” the federal government launched an all-out legal attack by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag to shut the dispensary down, along with many like it in the Bay Area.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of other pot dispensaries in California were shut down during the last four years, but Harborside outlasted them all and is now free to conduct business without the threat of a government shutdown, Harborside Executive Director Steve DeAngelo said in a statement.

“When US Attorney Melinda Haag first filed suit to seize the property Harborside is located in, I vowed we would never abandon our patients… and predicted Harborside would outlast the efforts to close us down. Today, thanks to the deep support of our community and our elected officials, and the skill and determination of our legal counsel, that prediction has come true.”

The city of Oakland backed Harborside throughout its extensive legal battle with the federal government and even sued to stop its eviction. The city argued closing the dispensary would lose it valuable tax dollars and increase crime, thus creating a drain on city resources.

The victory for the nation’s largest cannabis dispensary comes at the same time the city of Oakland is set to enact new pot laws to regulate the medical marijuana industry from seed to store.

Although Oakland was one of the first California cities to make medical marijuana dispensaries legal, only eight currently operate in the city; the new laws considered would increase that number to 100.

The new cannabis regulations would also allow Oakland to rake in about $12 million in tax revenue and prohibit pot businesses within 600 feet of schools or youth centers.

Medical marijuana was legalized in California in 1996, but the state made very few laws to regulate the new industry until last year, when a series of bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown created a cannabis czar to oversee all aspects of the new industry.

Now, recreational cannabis is sweeping the nation and already four states and the district of Columbia have legalized the drug while 23 other states have eased restrictions. Several states, including California, will more than likely consider legalizing recreational pot use in November.

The back alley business has blossomed into a main-street industry and brought in some $3 million in revenue in California alone last year.

Last week, an estimated 2,500 job applicants applied for work in the marijuana industry at a San Francisco area cannabis job fair. Thirty-two companies were looking to fill positions for everything from marketing consultants and software developers to budtenders and cultivators.

The green revolution is sweeping the nation and President Barack Obama even sat down with two cannabis activists last week to discuss moving marijuana off the Schedule 1 list of drugs.

[Photo by Jeff Chiu/AP Images]

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