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In a move that may make it the first city to treat
marijuana clubs like any other businesses, San Jose has
proposed zoning rules that regulate where pot can be grown
and sold.

City officials Tuesday announced " medical marijuana
dispensary" rules that would allow pot clubs to operate in
commercial areas and grow marijuana on site.

However, marijuana smoking would be banned on the
premises because city law prohibits smoking of any kind
inside public buildings and offices.

"We are not following the San Francisco model," City
Atty. Joan Gallo said of the nosmoking policy.

In addition, no juveniles would be allowed on the
premises, and the city would require club operators to
document their transactions.

Although the clubs would not be allowed in residential
areas or near schools, churches, homes or day care centers,
Gallo said the proposal is an attempt to abide by last
year's Proposition 215, the voterapproved ballot measure
that legalized the use and cultivation of marijuana for
medical purposes.

"The chief of police, the district attorney and the city
are all determined to enforce the law in a humanitarian
way," Gallo said. "We have no intention of making it
difficult to comply with Proposition 215 . . . but it has
to be done in a way that does not create problems for
residents in their communities." The ordinance goes before
San Jose's council March 25.