SANTA ANA – An embattled medical marijuana dispensary where Santa Ana police were filmed during a May raid purportedly snacking on pot edibles faced scrutiny again Thursday from city officials.

Santa Ana police went to Sky High Collective on West 17th Street to support city code enforcement officials for an unspecified “administrative action,” Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

The officers did not raid the dispensary or seize pot and other items from the business, which continues to operate despite not being licensed to sell medical marijuana, said Bertagna.

“They were there to keep the peace,” he said.

Around 9:45 a.m., Sky High employees were preparing for the start of business when they saw several police vehicles outside in a parking lot, Matthew Pappas, an attorney for the dispensary, said.

The dispensary did not open and police eventually left.

It’s unclear whether code enforcement officers completed their administrative action against Sky High. Repeated efforts to contact city officials for comment were unsuccessful Thursday.

Pappas went to the dispensary around 11:20 a.m. and told operators to reopen in defiance of the city’s efforts to keep it closed, he said.

“It’s an invalid law and a law that will not stand,” Pappas said. “The law discriminates against (medical marijuana) patients.”

Santa Ana voters approved Measure BB last year, enabling the city to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. The city had a lottery to select 20 dispensary operators, and the first licensed dispensary opened this week.

Sky High was not among the dispensaries selected to receive a license.

A steady stream of customers went to Sky High to purchase marijuana Thursday morning and were disappointed to find the dispensary closed. Many waited outside for it to reopen.

Elizabeth Ruvalcaba, 20, of Santa Ana is a medical marijuana card holder and said the establishment is being unfairly targeted.

“We’re just trying to get medication,” she said “We’re not bad people.”

After receiving permission from Pappas, workers unlocked the door to the dispensary housed in a nondescript building in a small strip mall.

Inside Sky High is a small waiting room, five glass display counters, an ATM, and a freezer that stores marijuana ice cream treats. Prices for various pot products are scrawled on a chalkboard that hangs on a wall.

Thursday’s incident marks the third time in three months that Sky High has been the focus of legal action from the city.

On July 8, Santa Ana police briefly detained Sky High employees while executing a search warrant.

Several officers brandishing firearms, some wearing masks, also stormed the dispensary on May 26.

During the raid, officers removed several video cameras but failed to find one that later recorded them purportedly eating pot edibles and making derogatory remarks about a woman with one leg who works there.

Pappas has provided the Register and Santa Ana police with two versions of the raid footage, a highlight reel with subtitles and what he says are unedited video clips. The clips have been widely shared through social media.

A lawsuit, filed last week in Orange County Superior Court by three unidentified police officers and the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, seeks to prevent Santa Ana Police Department internal affairs investigators from using the video to sort out what happened during the May 26 raid.

Santa Ana police Cmdr. Chris Revere, who is in charge of internal affairs, said he is closely monitoring the legal proceedings.

“With or without the video, we are still proceeding with the investigation,” he said.

Contact the writer: sschwebke@ocregister.com 714-796-7767 Twitter: @thechalkoutline