San Jose enacts de facto ban on medical marijuana dispensaries
Source: San Jose Mercury News
San Jose leaders have taken their firmest stance yet on one of the thorniest issues at City Hall, moving to crack down big time on medical marijuana dispensaries following several failed attempts to get tough on pot over the last half-decade.
The San Jose City Council's 7-3 vote Tuesday evening limits existing and new pot shops to a handful of select industrial areas that make up less than 1 percent of the city, which will require the vast majority of the dispensaries to close within a year. Even the ones that survive will have to comply with costly new restrictions.
... While 60 percent of respondents in a city-commissioned poll earlier this year wanted pot shops regulated, only 16 percent favored an outright ban already adopted by about 200 California cities. But a ban is exactly what will happen, marijuana store owners say, as the new regulations will make it virtually impossible to do business in San Jose.
... San Jose has the bulk of Silicon Valley's pot shops thanks in part to its lack of action on regulations. Officials in Gilroy, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill and Sunnyvale have banned pot shops, according to Americans for Safe Access. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is set to consider a ban in unincorporated areas this summer.
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_25938602/big-medical-marijuana-shop-crackdown-approved-san-jose