CITIES DO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER POT SHOPS

Assembly Bill 1300 Will Help Communities Maintain and Foster a
Drug-Free and Healthy Environment

For many months, media outlets have covered the issue of marijuana
dispensaries in North County cities opening up in conflict with
cities' licensing and land-use regulations.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 1300, which was approved by the Assembly
71-1 and state Senate 38-0, demonstrating significant bipartisan and
near-unanimous support.

AB 1300 clearly establishes local oversight and control, since it is
local government and law enforcement agencies who have to deal with
the often adverse impacts of marijuana dispensaries in communities
that may include increased crime. A recent study found that
adolescent marijuana use is higher in states with medical marijuana
laws, and that perceptions of risk of marijuana use are lower (Annals
of Epidemiology, September 2011). While the study could not determine
causality, it is an outcome that warrants serious consideration as
local jurisdictions continue to face the issue of marijuana availability.

According to the Los Angeles Times (Aug. 31), the bill's author,
Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-San Fernando Valley, stated, "This is
a great victory for communities which have been struggling with rogue
dispensaries popping up overnight without any regard for their laws
relating to business licensure and zoning restrictions. The new law
will provide a framework for stability after years of struggling with
a Wild West, lawless proliferation of dispensaries across California
that sometimes constitute a public nuisance or worse."

AB 1300 was written in response to the mounting concerns of community
members and local governmental officials that in some cities, pot
shops were beginning to outnumber Starbucks. Pot shop operators and
their attorneys claimed it was their right to sell pot in a
storefront, even if local zoning codes and laws forbid it. Locally,
many cities in North County have been affected by the increasing
number of marijuana businesses operating in retail centers, often
without lawful business permits.

"It isn't fair that most businesses follow the laws of the city in
which they work, while pot shop owners feel like they can operate
with total disrespect for a city's regulations," stated Jon Hanson, a
local business owner.

AB 1300 verifies what many cities and counties have already known is
their right ---- to ban pot shops. The 2008 Attorney General
Guidelines on this issue states, "Although marijuana dispensaries
have been operating in California for years, dispensaries, as such,
are not recognized under the law."

AB 1300 is effective on Jan. 1, 2012.

Until then, cities and counties will continue to use their land-use
authority to control dispensaries, pot shops and other marijuana businesses.