SANTA ANA – Defying Santa Ana authorities, an embattled medical marijuana dispensary reopened for the first time Friday since being searched by police and ordered closed more than a week ago.
Volunteers at Sky High Collective on West 17th Street used a key provided by the building’s landlord, unlocked the front door and entered the darkened dispensary around 10 a.m.
A quick inspection revealed that police, during the execution of a search warrant on Oct. 26, took most of Sky High’s pot products but left tips and several personal computers belonging to workers, said volunteer 54-year-old Marla James.
James was hopeful Sky High would be restocked with merchandise allowing it begin serving clients. “We want to be able to give them their medication,” she said.
Santa Ana police went to Sky High around noon Friday and stayed for about 30 minutes before leaving without removing any items from the dispensary.
Sky High could face more legal action, Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department, said Friday.
“If Sky High reopens without a proper business license, it’s subject to further enforcement,” he said. “They are not one of the 20 approved dispensaries.”
Santa Ana voters approved Measure BB last year, which enables the city to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. The city had a lottery to select 20 dispensary operators. Sky High was not among those chosen.
Sky High has been the focus of legal action from the city four times in the last five months.
The most controversial incident occurred May 26, when several officers brandishing firearms, some wearing masks, stormed the dispensary.
During the raid, officers removed several video surveillance cameras but failed to find one that later that recorded them purportedly eating pot edibles and making derogatory remarks about James, who is an amputee and uses a wheelchair.
Santa Ana police have launched an internal affairs investigation into the actions of three officers who participated in the raid and put them on administrative leave.
In August, the officers involved in the raid filed a temporary restraining order against the Santa Ana Police Department to prevent internal affairs investigators from using the video because they maintained they were filmed without permission.
However, Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Bauer rejected the restraining order, stating that officers did not have a reasonable privacy expectation since they were on-duty at the time.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline
