Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, is a California law concerning the use of medical cannabis. It was enacted, on November 5, 1996, by means of the initiative process, and passed throughout the state with 55.6% in favor. In the City of Imperial Beach, Proposition 215 passed with 56.7% (3,278 votes) in favor and 43.3% (2,504 votes) against.
The law allows patients with a valid doctor’s recommendation, and the patient’s designated Primary Caregivers, to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal medical use, and has since been expanded to protect a growing system of collective and cooperative distribution.
The dispensary ban in Imperial Beach was passed by the Imperial Beach City Council in August of 2011. The ordinance is a blanket ban on ALL medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives in the City of Imperial Beach.
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Under the ban, medical cannabis is limited to being grown in residential housing where a maximum of three (3) or fewer qualified patients may cultivate for themselves.
Many patients in Imperial Beach are too sick to grow for themselves, and may lack the requisite skills and/or financial wherewithal to cultivate their own medicine. Some patients live in rental units or small spaces, where cultivation is not an option. In these cases, patients are forced to turn to street dealers for medication, exposing them to a multitude of risks.
Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Proposition S is a sensible policy that enables proper regulation and control that balances safe access with community safety.
A responsible policy would allow law enforcement the ability to close bad operators.
Patients need safe, regulated access to medical marijuana through regulated medical cannabis dispensing collectives that respect their neighbors and adhere to city regulation.
A complete ban is not a sensible solution.
