BREA – The city's six-month legal battle against three medical-marijuana dispensaries has cost taxpayers just under $325,000 so far, according to a review of city expenditures by The Orange County Register. BREA – The city's six-month legal battle against three medical-marijuana dispensaries has cost taxpayers just under $325,000 so far, according to a review of city expenditures by The Orange County Register.

From February until mid-July, the city cut checks totaling $324,968 to the law firm of Richards, Watson and Gershon, the same firm that employs City Attorney Jim Markman. That amount includes more than $68,000 paid out in the first half of this month alone.

Cynthia Maldonado and Stephanie Gebhard display an array of medical marijuana products at Physis in Brea. Included are teas, ice cream, honey, peanut butter, "Death Rockets," (potent joints) and cookies all made with cannabis.

The city has been trying to shut down the three clinics since January for violating a city law banning medical-marijuana dispensaries. In March, a judge issued injunctions ordering the clinics to be shut down pending a full trial but all three remained opened, sparking further legal action.

The city has so far successfully shuttered one clinic, Brea Medical Referral Network, for violating that court order, but the other two have remained open. One, Brea Alternative Medicine, had its injunction stayed by a higher court while the other, Physis Patients Association, dodged two attempts in court by the city to close it down and now faces a third hearing.

Throughout, the city has been paying a team of lawyers to pursue the clinics.

Councilman Ron Garcia has been out of town and missed Tuesday's council meeting, but he said he knew bills for the city's legal actions reached $250,000 earlier this summer. He said he's spoken with constituents and interested parties on both sides of the dispensary issue.

"I've gotten phone calls and emails and most of the content has been in support of the city's efforts," Garcia said, efforts he would like to see continue until they're resolved in court.

Councilman Don Schweitzer said he wasn't aware of a specific amount that the city had spent on legal action.

Because the city's cases are "in a process right now," Schweitzer said he didn't want to comment about whether he would support changing the city's stance on the lawsuits.

"We've given the city attorney direction," Schweitzer said, "and he's followed that direction."

Gus Ziadeh, the store manger for Physis, said he understands the city's concerns over medical marijuana but considers the city's fight a futile one. The question of whether Brea's right to ban dispensaries outweighs state law allowing them to exist will likely be answered by separate, similar cases playing out in other California courts.

Until then, he said, the city shouldn't spend tax dollars fighting dispensaries but instead adopt a policy limiting and regulating them. Ziadeh noted that Garden Grove's City Council voted to end a ban on dispensaries Tuesday night and replaced it with a registration system.

Garden Grove's ban was adopted in 2008 but since then the operations have proliferated, because there has been no regulation or enforcement, officials said. Garden Grove City Manager Matthew Fertal said the only way to enforce the ban was in the courts and "we as a city did not want to face the expenses associated with litigation."