Happy Wellness Marijuana Dispensary To Close

Newark’s only medical marijuana dispensary will soon close its doors, according to the Happy Wellness Center (Newark) Facebook page.

A status on the medical marijuana dispensary’s Facebook page states a celebration will be held before “we close our doors this Sunday.”

The reason for the planned closure was not provided and calls to Happy Wellness Center and the dispensary’s lawyer, Attorney Scot Candell, were not returned to Newark Patch as of Thursday evening.

Court documents show that a motion was made on Jan. 12 for a preliminary and permanent injunction against the collective, which is identified in court records as Alpha Rising Inc.

City Manager John Becker said Thursday evening there has been no formal ruling filed for the request for injunctions.

Becker also declined to comment on the announcement of the collective’s closure on Facebook, citing he prefers to make a statement when a formal ruling is filed.

The city of Newark first filed a lawsuit against Alpha Rising Inc. on Nov. 1 – two weeks after the City Council passed an urgent

That lawsuit, Becker has said, to request a court-issued injunction so the city could enforce its ordinance and close the medical marijuana dispensary.

Happy Wellness Center has been operating as a cannabis collective at its location off Jarvis Avenue near Haley Street since before July 2011, according to court documents filed by the city of Newark.

Those documents also show that Alpha Rising Inc. filed for a business license to operate for a drugstore/medical clinic” on July 8, 2011, but that the application was returned when “it was determined that the actual use was as a medical marijuana dispensary.”

A Happy Wellness Center spokespoerson contacted Patch by email Saturday and said the cannabis collective did not open until Sept. 1 and that the City of Newark knew of the dispensary's intention to distribute medical marijuana since its opening.

City officials have said the zoning of the building does not allow for a medical marijuana dispensary under city zoning regulations and thus a business license was denied.

City officials have also argued zoning regulations do not allow for the trade of marijuana and ity regulations require that all businesses in Newark be compliant with federal laws.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, meaning it has "a high potential for abuse (and) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."

Alpha Rising Inc. co-founder and Candell have said Happy Wellness Center has operated legally in accordance to state laws since its opening.

“We're doing everything to be compliant with state and local laws,” Candell has said.

The announcement of the closure comes about one month after Happy Wellness and a Danville home against four individuals affiliated with the collective, an official with the state Department of Justice has said.

That investigation is ongoing.

More stories on Happy Wellness Center:

More articles on local medical marijuana dispensaries:

Editor's Note: This report was updated 6:30 p.m. Saturday to add clarifications from a spokesperson with Happy Wellness Center.