Pubdate: Tue, 07 May 2013
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 2013 SF Newspaper Company LLC
Contact:  http://www.sfexaminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389

STATE APPROVES DISPENSARY BANS

California High Court Says Municipalities Can Ban Medical Marijuana 
Dispensaries

The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that cities and 
counties have the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within 
their borders, despite the existence of a state law that protects 
patients who use the drug.

The court said the scope of the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act 
of 1996, or Proposition 215, and a related 2003 state law is "limited 
and circumscribed" and does not prevent local governments from 
prohibiting marijuana dispensaries.

Currently, 193 California cities - including Concord, Corte Madera, 
Fremont, Petaluma, Redwood City, Sunnyvale and Vacaville, among more 
than 40 in the greater Bay Area - ban medical marijuana dispensaries, 
according to statistics compiled by Americans for Safe Access, an 
Oakland-based marijuana advocacy group.

Twenty counties, including Contra Costa, prohibit dispensaries within 
unincorporated county land.

Forty-four California cities currently have regulations that allow 
dispensaries, including Oakland, Martinez, San Jose, San Francisco 
and Santa Rosa, according to Americans for Safe Access.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom