The city of Diamond Bar has taken steps to make sure no medical marijuana dispensaries open up in town.
The Diamond Bar City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to approve a 45-day urgency ordinance prohibiting the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries.
Ryan McLean, the assistant to the city manager, said the urgency ordinance was needed so that the city can have time to draft a permanent one.
Diamond Bar does not have any medical marijuana dispensaries operating at this time, he said.
However, there previously was one operating that has since closed. Before the urgency ordinance was approved, Diamond Bar's zoning code permitted one established dispensary within the city, according to the staff report.
As more neighboring cities prohibit the establishment of dispensaries, the likelihood that an operator might seek to locate in Diamond Bar increases, McLean wrote in the staff report.
Cities such as Whittier, San Dimas, Downey, Norwalk, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Placentia, Santa Ana, Orange, Tustin, and all unincorporated areas of Orange and Los Angeles Counties prohibit the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, he added.
Proposition 215, passed by California voters in 1996, legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes only statewide. The passage of Senate Bill 420 followed to allow local jurisdictions to adopt and enforce rules related to the Proposition 215.
While medical marijuana use is legal in California, it remains illegal according to federal law.
By drafting an ordinance prohibiting dispensaries from opening in Diamond Bar, the confusion between state and federal law is eliminated, McLean said.
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