SAM Statement: California Supreme Court – Cities can ban pot shops

Release: May 6, 2013

Today, Kevin A. Sabet, Director of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) released this statement on the California Supreme Court decision specifying that cities and towns can ban medical marijuana “dispensaries”:

 

“It is universally accepted that California’s medical marijuana system is a sad joke. This unanimous decision by the California Supreme Court underscores the importance of localities ensuring what is best for their residents’ safety. In many cases, medical marijuana “dispensaries” are, as one leader of the pro-marijuana movement put it once, ‘little more than dope dealers with store fronts.’ Though we all want the sick and dying access to medications to ease their suffering, research has found that the average California medical marijuana card holder is a 32-year-old white male with no history of debilitating illness. Peer-reviewed, published research has also found that less than 2% of California cardholders have HIV/AIDS, cancer, or glaucoma. The California Supreme Court should be applauded for allowing localities to ban these cash-only stores, which are often magnets for robbery, murder, and disorder. Real medical marijuana would focus on non-smoked applications of the drug dispensed by pharmacies under the supervision of physicians – not self-described ‘pot docs’ that sell recommendations for ‘Super Silver Haze’ for $100 a pop to anyone with a headache.”