Lone South Tahoe pot club threatened with closure

By Kathryn Reed

Even though Tahoe Wellness Collective sought permits in October to renovate the facility to deal with the marijuana odor issue, South Lake Tahoe this week threatened the dispensary with closure.

Cody Bass, who runs the medical marijuana dispensary, said he has the contractors lined up and permits in hand. Bass told Lake Tahoe News he expects to have the remodel done by the end of the year.

What has the city upset is people continue to complain about the smell and this has been ongoing since TWC opened four years ago. While permits have not been required that entire time, now that they are all the rules must be followed – which includes running an odorless operation.

The notice given this week says Bass has 10 days to comply or he will be shutdown. He intends to appeal that notice. This buys him time to stay open and fix the problem until the council schedules a hearing. Ultimately it is up the the City Council now.

City Manager Nancy Kerry said she plans to meet with Bass on Friday.

Added to all of this is Bass was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer in October in Colusa County and subsequently arrested with allegedly 1.5 ounces of pot on him. The charges were possession of marijuana or hashish, possession for sale and driving with a suspended license.

If Bass were convicted of a felony, he could lose his permit to operated the dispensary per city regulations. Bass told Lake Tahoe News he does not believe a felony conviction is in his future.