| Photo: Laurie Avocado, Wikimedia Commons |
A San Diego task force has released its recommendations for the city council regarding medical marijuana dispensaries.
The task force said, among other things, that dispensaries should go through a permitting process, limit hours of operation, abide by zoning restrictions, and should be more than 1,000 feet from schools, libraries, or playgrounds. Dispensaries would also be restricted from bring less than 500 feet away from each other.
Some local marijuana supporters are on board with the proposed regulations. “I think it’s balanced and pretty fair,” Craig Beresh told the local NBC affiliate. “I think it’s going to work for both the medical marijuana community and the city of San Diego.”
| Courtesy Eugene Davidovich |
| Davidovich: “Very pleased to see the Council is taking an proactive role” |
Medical marijuana patient and activist Eugene Davidovich expressed cautious optimism about the recommendations. “I am very pleased to see that the San Diego City Council is taking a proactive role in trying to provide clarification to patients who are forced to navigate these murky laws,” he told Toke of the Town.
“At the same time it is disappointing that as of yet the chief of police and mayor of San Diego have not taken an active role,” Davidovich said. “It is more disappointing to see the San Diego District Attorney [Bonnie Dumanis] refuse to cooperate with the task force, and the continued arrest, prosecution, and harassment of legitimate medical cannabis patients by her office.”
D.A. Dumanis isn’t the only anti-marijuana zealot refused to budge from a hardline position. “All these storefronts are illegally selling marijuana for profit,” said Marcie Beckett of Pacific Beach, echoing recent statements by California Attorney General Jerry Brown, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, and L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.
The marijuana task force held public meetings, studied ordinances from other cities and counties around the state, and considered comments from San Diego residents over a period of five weeks before making the recommendations.
The San Diego City Council will weigh the task force’s recommendations before possibly making changes. Davidovich told Toke of the Town that chairman Alex Kreit of the task force said the recommendations will officially be presented to the council on December 8.