Illegal Freeway-Close Riverside Marijuana Dispensary Shut Down

Staff Writer

Monday, February 13th, 2017

RIVERSIDE – A Marijuana Dispensary in the City of Riverside was closed on Thursday after investigators found the illegal operation. The operation called ‘The Re-Up” located near the 91 freeway at 3532 Central Avenue was found to be in violation of both city zoning laws and in violation of multiple several life/fire/safety codes.

“The City of Riverside does not permit dispensaries, so this business was operating without a permit and without a business license,” said City Councilman Mike Soubirous, who represents the area. “It’s encouraging to see the City remove a non-permitted business that operated in disregard of zoning laws and other safety requirements.”

The building was shut down and boarded up by Police, Fire Officials, and Code Enforcement, who were working closely with the City Attorney’s office. The location was confirmed to be a dispensary when undercover police officers purchased marijuana. “The business also was found to lack adequate ingress and egress because doors within the business were being controlled by electronic buzzers,” Riverside Police officials said. “That created a possible fire hazard because anyone inside the building could encounter difficulty entering or exiting the building.”

City officials had previously issued “cease and desist” letters, and red tagged the building to make it illegal to enter. They also disconnected the utilities to the property. Despite these warnings, the operators returned to conduct business using a generator to provide electricity. “Riverside has made it clear over the years that marijuana dispensaries are not legal here,” Mayor Rusty Bailey said. “Riverside residents and business owners cannot be expected to tolerate such establishments, so it’s heartening to see so much hard work yield such a positive result.”