| Photo: Laurie Avocado |
| Whenever City Council’s in session, look out. |
San Diego’s task force on medical marijuana will present its land-use recommendations to the city council today.
According to the task force, any businesses that dispense medical marijuana in San Diego should be required to apply for a land use permit, and should only be allowed in industrial or commercial zones, Tom Fudge reports at KPBS.
The task force also recommends that dispensaries shouldn’t be located within 1,000 feet of a school, or within 500 feet of another dispensary.
The task force said the recommendations are based on existing ordinances in other California cities.
| Photo: Thomas Jefferson School of Law |
| Alex Kreit: “…ensure that they’re located in places that are not disruptive” |
Task force Chairman Alex Kreit said restricting land use of dispensaries is a key step. “When you do that you inherently limit the number that can operate and you ensure that they’re located in places that are not disruptive to the community,” he said.
An October poll indicated that a hefty majority of city residents — 77 percent — favor leaving the pot shops open and regulating them, rather than eliminating them.
| Photo: U.S. Navy, Patricia R. Totemeier |
| D.A. Bonnie Dumanis: “No such things” as legal marijuana dispensaries |
But San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has vowed to continue with her medical marijuana dispensary crackdown.
Dumanis grabbed headlines for saying there are “no such things” as legal marijuana dispensaries, despite state law.
A voter initiative, Proposition 215, legalized medical marijuana in California in 1996. In 2003, the law was expanded and clarified by SB 420.
It’s unlikely the city council will take any action on the recommendations today; the proposed regulations will likely be referred to the council’s Land Use and Planning Committee for further review, according to KPBS.