DrugSense

DrugSense

The Signal, 12 May 2013 – Issuing a unanimous ruling, the California Supreme Court recently affirmed the right of local governments to ban pot shops. Justice Marvin Baxter, writing for the state high court, said marijuana dispensaries "may pose a danger of increased crime, congestion, blight, and drug abuse."

The Record, 10 May 2013 – STOCKTON – The city took its first step Thursday toward banning medical marijuana dispensaries less than three years after allowing them to legally open for business. One dispensary, at Eastland Plaza on Wilson Way, which has yet to open, may survive the ban as long as its owners don’t try to move to a new location, requiring a change to their city-issued permit.

Times-Press-Recorder, 10 May 2013 – To the Editor: Government spending on welfare alone is $131.9 billion a year. The purpose of government aid programs is to encourage enrollees to better their lives, not to support their drug addiction.

Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2013 – Of the Three on the Ballot, Only Measure D Will Put L.A. on the Right Road. It Deserves a Yes Vote. The regulation of medical marijuana in Los Angeles is a mess and has been ever since Proposition 215 was approved by California voters in November 1996. Repeated state and city efforts to bring the chaotic situation under control have had little effect.

The Bakersfield Californian, 09 May 2013 – Monday’s ruling by the California Supreme Court that essentially authorizes cities and counties to decide individually whether they will allow marijuana dispensaries to operate in their jurisdictions makes good sense. Local governments ought to be able to determine whether marijuana dispensaries are a good fit for their particular community standards and, if so, under what circumstances. The question that should influence these local decisions — which would be enforced through zoning restrictions — is whether dispensaries are catering to the needs of patients with valid, diagnosed medical needs or are simply retail outlets for recreational users happy to score their weed as easily as they might buy a pack of cigarettes. Dispensaries certainly often give the outward impression that they cater primarily to the latter group, with locked doors, drawn shades and furtive customer behavior.

Appeal-Democrat, 08 May 2013 – Medical marijuana growers face permanent restrictions in Yuba City, following a split vote at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to adopt a cultivation ordinance to the municipal code. The regulations have been in effect since March 2012 on a temporary basis to allow city staff to make tweaks along the way. On Tuesday, the standards became permanent when council members approved them on a 3-2 vote.

East Bay Express, 08 May 2013 – The high court’s decision to uphold pot club bans could result in an extended period in which it will be impossible to buy medical cannabis in some cities but not in others – unless the legislature intervenes. The California Supreme Court upheld on Monday the right of cities and counties to ban medical cannabis dispensaries in a unanimous decision that promises to have major ramifications in the state. The ruling means that cities like Walnut Creek and counties like Riverside can continue to ban medical cannabis dispensaries in their areas – even though medical cannabis remains legal statewide. It also lets cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco to continue to allow regulated medical marijuana collectives operating in storefronts – i.e., dispensaries.

Record Searchlight, 07 May 2013 – California cities and counties can ban pot shops, the state’s highest court ruled today in a unanimous opinion likely to further diminish California’s once-robust medical marijuana industry. The California Supreme Court said neither the state’s voter-approved law legalizing medical marijuana nor a companion measure adopted by the Legislature prevent local governments from using their land use and zoning powers to prohibit storefront dispensaries.