Thursday’s low-key police raid on a Costa Mesa marijuana dispensary operating illegally is a sign of things to come, Police Chief Chris Shawkey said Friday.
Police served a search warrant on West Coast Wellness, a medical marijuana dispensary at 1260 Logan Ave. Four people were arrested on marijuana-related charges, officials said in a news release.
“This should be a message to them that our intent is to take whatever appropriate action we can to close them down,” Shawkey said.
Thursday’s raid was one of many to come, he said. Residents and local businesses had been complaining about the smell of marijuana and heavy customer traffic, he added.
“This is a priority within the Police Department, and we’re well aware of the other ones and we’re using any means we can to put them out of business,” Shawkey said.
On its website, West Coast Wellness touts its “personable and attractive female bud servers,” who are depicted wearing short black-and-green latex skirts, bikini tops and nurse hats. West Coast Wellness is one of the seven to nine medical marijuana distributors operating in Costa Mesa, city officials estimate.
The city has an ordinance against such businesses, but a Jan. 24 Daily Pilot article revealed that several are operating in the city under business licenses for alternative health or nutrition services, including one with a license to answer phones for an appliance repair business.
Police have known about the illegal operations but were forming an “enforcement strategy,” Shawkey said.
Department officials have been consulting with the Orange County district attorney’s office and the city attorney on how to clamp down on the illegal operations — be it through civil proceedings or criminal prosecution — the chief said.
While California allows the cultivation, sales or usage of medical marijuana for those suffering from chronic pain, cancer and other serious ailments, Costa Mesa banned such business in 2005, arguing that its ordinance promotes health, safety and morals. The city backed up its anti-pot dispensary law with the Controlled Substances Act, a federal law prohibiting marijuana distribution.
