Cops promise dispensary demises

chula vista police shut down illegal dispensary, will target those remaining

Chula Vista police early in the morning of May 3 converged on an illegal marijuana dispensary on Third Avenue and shut down the operation. The city of Chula Vista is currently reviewing applications for recreational and medical marijuana retailers to operate legally in the city. (Eaton)

The city of Chula Vista closed down another cannabis dispensary on May 3, the latest in a string of pot-shop shutdowns as the city readies to welcome in licensed marijuana businesses.

The dispensary, called Cannavista, was located at 452 Third Ave., and, according to prior estimates, was over the 50th illegal shop closed by the city since Prop 64 legalized recreational marijuana use in California in 2016.

The raid took place at approximately 8:30 a.m. and was served by the city attorney’s office with assistance from a Chula Vista Police Department swat team, following a civil abatement warrant against the business.

“We’ve received numerous complaints over the course of the last, at-least several weeks, about this location,” CVPD Captain Phil Collum said.

No arrests were made, however, marijuana products, including cannabis-infused candies and popcorn, were seized from the business, which was located within a block of Saint Rose of Lima Elementary School and its adjoining chruch.

Collum said citizen complaints are always taken into account when dealing with issues such as illegal pot shops.

“We always try to adapt and meet the priorities of our community, what’s important to the safety of our community is important to the police department,” he said.

The dispensary is the latest to be shut down in the city, with other shops already closed down along Third Avenue, Main Street, Vance Street, Broadway, and others.

“I would not in any way want to suggest that this particular location is being treated any differently than any other illegal cannabis location,” Collum said. “All cannabis operations within the city of Chula Vista right now are illegal, and they will all be shut down, it’s just a matter of time.”

The city has already cleared a path for legal cannabis dispensaries to begin operating within the city, following the passing of Measure Q in November.

The tax measure led to the creation of an ordinance that allows three retail licensed dispensaries per district.

Theresa Acerro, president of the Southwest Chula Vista Civic Association, held a meeting in February to discuss perceived issues with the ordinance, and it was attended by residents upset about the then-recently opened Cannavista.

“The people who go to that church were incensed and the people whose kids go to that elementary school there were incensed and they really made a lot of noise about it,” Acerro said. “They really complained, and that’s the important thing, that’s what you have to do around here obviously.”

Acerro said the shop, which was decorated with a green sign and green lights, otherwise did not actually seem to cause too much disruption, aside from its proximity to the school and church.

“I must say that they actually, on the outside, they weren’t being really brazen, they were really trying to keep it kind of quiet looking,” she said. “But it was a really unacceptable location.”

Illegal cannabis dispensary owners face a variety of punishments if caught operating in the city without a license – applications are currently still in the processing phase – such as fines, possible arrest, and permanently losing the ability to apply for a license within city limits.

“The first time they go in they should just arrest everybody and put them in jail,” Acerro said. “That would possibly scare some people into not wanting to work at these places. If they can’t get anybody to work for them that might eliminate some of them.”