APPELLATE COURT RULES AGAINST MARIJUANA SHOP.

Byline: Don Holland Staff Writer

A state Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that banned marijuana sales at Ventura County's only medical marijuana center.

During arguments before the three-judge panel last month, an attorney for the Rainbow Country Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center had argued that Superior Court Judge William Peck improperly narrowed the definition of ``caregiver'' under Proposition 215, the state's 1996 medical marijuana law. Peck's ruling effectively prevented marijuana activist Andrea Nagy from dispensing the drug to about 60 patrons of her Thousand Oaks facility.

IN a 3-0 decision, the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling that Proposition 215 does not allow the creation of improvised medical marijuana pharmacies like Nagy's.

Deputy District Attorney Mitch Disney said the ruling is in line with other court opinions in the state.

``Basically the Court of Appeal said that 215 did not legalize the sale of marijuana in California and that you can't qualify as a primary caregiver for a seriously ill person when you have 60 other people you're claiming to be the primary caregiver for,'' Disney said.

J. David Nick, an attorney representing Nagy, was not available Thursday afternoon.

Proposition 215 encourages the state and federal governments to create a way to distribute medical marijuana to legitimate patients but does not allow individuals to establish their own distribution system.

In 1997, Nagy opened her center and distributed marijuana to patients until the operation was closed in March 1998.

In February, 1998, the District Attorney's Office filed a civil lawsuit against Nagy, alleging she illegally sold marijuana and that her medical marijuana center was an unlicensed pharmacy.

The appellate court ruling paves the way for the civil case to proceed. A trial date has not yet been set.