County Board Oks Lawyers to Sue Pot Dispensaries in Unincorporated Areas

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 5-0 during closed session to authorize its attorneys to sue marijuana dispensaries and the owners of any property where dispensaries operate, a county spokesman said.

"With the authorization from the Board, county officials will use code-enforcement powers, and lawsuits as needed, to pursue dozens of illegal dispensaries within the county’s unincorporated area," county spokesman Ray Smith said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

County officials will also seek to recover administrative and legal costs "unless dispensary operators or property owners immediately and voluntarily cease dispensary operations," Smith said.

County officials know of at least 36 dispensaries operating illegally in unincorporated parts of Riverside County, and more than a dozen have closed down in the past year, Smith said.

The only known dispensary in the Pass area, , used to be on East 6th Street in Beaumont.

A multi-agency task force on the Oak Tree dispensary in June, searching five locations, arresting five people, and seizing processed marijuana, hashish, business documents, and other evidence of illegal sales and use of marijuana, law enforcement officials said.

The owner of Oak Tree Alternative Care and his attorney said five days later the collective had re-opened for business.

It was not clear Tuesday whether Oak Tree still operates in Beaumont.