News that the city of Gilroy has convinced MediLeaf, a medical
marijuana dispensary, to close shop
– after a long and expensive legal fight – should have Morgan
Hill’s leaders taking note.
News that the city of Gilroy has convinced MediLeaf, a medical marijuana dispensary, to close shop – after a long and expensive legal fight – should have Morgan Hill’s leaders taking note.
The shuttering of MediLeaf leaves South County without a medical marijuana dispensary. It won’t be long before another enterprising business owner decides to fill the void, and given the battle that Gilroy waged in opposing MediLeaf, it’s unlikely that a savvy business owner will hang a shingle there. Why incur that stress and expense?
Meanwhile, Morgan Hill’s medical marijuana dispensary moratorium expired 18 months ago, on Feb. 20, 2009. It’s time for our city leaders to address the issue of whether medical marijuana dispensaries should be permitted in our town, and if so, where they should be located.
The questions must be tackled in order. First on the list is the question of whether or not medical marijuana dispensaries are welcome in Morgan Hill.
Medical marijuana is legal in California, and many South County residents rely on it to treat chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy, glaucoma and other ailments. In these difficult economic times, some California communities – like Oakland and Long Beach – are hoping to take advantage of the revenue opportunity that medical marijuana dispensaries present by implementing sales tax measures.
If city leaders decide to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, they must determine if they have sufficient legal grounds to ban them and must realistically assess the cost to defend such a ban. Gilroy spent at least $100,000 – and likely much more – on its battle with MediLeaf’s owners.
If Morgan Hill’s leaders decide to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, they must examine issues of zoning and location. MediLeaf’s downtown location raised many an eyebrow in Gilroy, for reasons both valid and silly. Should medical marijuana dispensaries be allowed wherever any retail is allowed? Should they be restricted to sites zoned for medical use? Again, does the city have sufficient legal grounds to enforce whatever restrictions it adopts?
The time to consider these questions is now – before a medical marijuana dispensary decides to open up shop in Morgan Hill.
