| Photo: OC Weekly |
| Dispensary owner and former City Council candidate Sue Lester: Judge’s decision to let shops open was the “right thing to do” |
A group of shuttered medical marijuana dispensaries previously deemed public nuisances were allowed to reopen in Costa Mesa, California this weekend thanks to a court order, one of the business owners confirmed on Saturday.
Sue Lester, former City Council candidate and owner of Herban Elements at 440 Fair Drive, said an Orange County Superior Court Judge’s order Friday allowing her business to reopen was the “right thing to do” while waiting for a court hearing next month, reports Joseph Serna at the Costa Mesa Daily Pilot.
City officials in April declared several marijuana and massage parlor businesses at Fair Drive public nuisances in April. Police claimed some of the massage parlors were fronts for prostitution.
Lester’s dispensary was among those ordered to shut down earlier this month under a temporary injunction until they had a chance on Friday to appeal the decision. The judge lifted the injunction and scheduled the business owners and Costa Mesa’s attorneys to come back to court June 3 to argue their cases.
Costa Mesa has for about a year now targeted certain marijuana dispensaries throughout the city. Some were ordered to close because they allegedly violated California’s medical marijuana dispensary rules, and others were left alone because they appeared to follow state standards, according to city officials.
Lester said that her dispensary follows state guidelines.