Many California that have
taken a stand on the medical marijuana question have given firm "no"
answers to those wishing to operate cannabis dispensaries, but this
suburb has been an exception.
Diamond Bar, in contrast to many of its neighbors, has an ordinance
that allows a single medical marijuana dispensary to operate within city
limits. That privileged position is currently occupied by a dispensary
calling itself Farm Assist Caregivers, which did not make anyone
available to comment for this article.
Diamond Bar’s 2006 ordinance was adopted at a time when California’s
marijuana laws were less clear than they are today. Despite the federal
prohibition of marijuana, California’s Proposition 215 and S.B. 420
respectively allowed state residents to use marijuana for medicinal
purposes and allowed those patients to obtain identification cards to
distinguish themselves from recreational users who enjoyed marijuana
outside of the bounds of state law.
The seeming contradiction between state and federal law led to some
doubt as to whether cities had the power to forbid medical marijuana
dispensaries from operating within their limits. That in turn led to a
strange situation in which some cities, such as San Bernardino, had bans
in place while dispensaries have operated openly so long as officials
could not be sure their efforts to enforce those bans would ultimately
be upheld in court.
The California Supreme
Court ended much of that doubt Monday when justices handed down a
unanimous opinion upholding cities’ power to prohibit dispensaries.
Justices determined that state law allows medical marijuana patients to
escape punishment for using a controlled substances, but state laws do
not go as far as to make marijuana 100 percent legal.
In light of the new ruling, Diamond Bar Mayor Jack Tanaka said it may
be time to reconsider the city’s law. Although he has not been informed
of any problems around Farm Assist Caregivers, Tanaka said Diamond Bar
adopted the ordinance at a time when he and other city officials were
not certain they had the power to forbid dispensaries.
"When it first got started, I wasn’t happy with it," Tanaka said last week.
In the immediate aftermath of the court’s ruling, however, Tanaka
said there is no movement to create a ban on dispensaries and said "I
think it’s relatively soon" to look at changing Diamond Bar’s law.
Diamond Bar Councilwoman Carol Herrera, like Tanaka, also said there
has yet to be any talk of instituting an outright ban of dispensaries in
her city. She said her opinion may be different if city officials faced
the challenge of controlling several dispensaries, but a single
dispensary is something she can live with.
"So, far the ordinance has worked well and all is peaceful in the city," Herrera said.
Unlike Diamond Bar, inland cities that have banned dispensaries
include Upland, Ontario, Redlands and Riverside. Inland Empire Patient
Health & Wellness Center and its legal dispute with Riverside over
its ban was at the center of the case leading to Monday’s state Supreme
Court opinion.
Besides Diamond Bar, California cities where officials have chosen to
regulate dispensaries instead of banning them include Northern
California liberal havens such as San Francisco, Oakland and Eureka,
according to Americans for Safe Access, an organization in favor of
medicinal cannabis.
Americans for Safe Access’ list also includes Palm Springs, where the
city code allows a maximum of three dispensaries, and the San
Bernardino County desert town of Yucca Valley. Yucca Valley Town Clerk
Jamie Anderson said, however, the policy of allowing a single dispensary
to operate is scheduled to expire in August.
Americans for Safe Access spokesman Kris Hermes said there is less
worry within the organization that cities that have chosen to allow
dispensaries will switch to banning them as there is concern localities
that have instituted temporary bans will move to make them permanent.
The group supports legislation to establish statewide medical marijuana
regulations and clarify marijuana collectives’ immunity from
prosecution.
