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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.