Politics & Government

Court Decision Leaves Newark Free to Regulate Or Ban Pot Clinics

Unanimous state Supreme Court decision lets local governments decide whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries within their boundaries.

 

A unanimous ruling issued Monday by the California Supreme Court allows cities and counties to decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana dispensaries within their borders.

The ruling puts a simmering Newark controversy back on the front burner.

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The court said the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, also known as Proposition 215, and a related 2003 state law do not require local governments to allow pot dispensaries inside their borders.

Currently, 44 California cities, including Oakland, Martinez, San Jose, San Francisco and Santa Rosa, allow and regulate dispensaries according to Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland-based marijuana advocacy group.

Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Another 193 cities, including Union City and more than 40 in the greater Bay Area, ban such dispensaries, according to the group.

The city of Newark's past actions suggest that any hope for a local dispensary will go up in smoke.

Newark has wrestled with the issue since March 2010, filing civil and criminal lawsuits against the NBD Cannabis Collective and, later, shutting down the Happy Wellness Center. The city established an emergency ordinance in October 2011 banning pot clubs and dispensaries. 

Both Happy Wellness Center and NBD shut down in late 2011, with owners of NBD eventually pleading guilty in court to charges of unlawfully selling marijuana, along with charges related to workers' compensation and unemployment insurance. 

Patch editor Zoneil Maharaj contributed to this report.


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