By Miriam Raftery
November 4, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – A ballot initiative effort in Lemon Grove to loosen regulation of where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located has gone up in smoke, for now.
Judge Kenneth Medel upheld a city clerk’s decision to refuse to accept signatures submitted for a special election on the measure, because voters were provided petitions with incomplete language on the proposed measure. Backers have until January 2018 to gather signatures from 15 percent of the city’s registered voters to qualify for the ballot.
Last November, Lemon Grove voters approved Measure V, legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries, by a scant 90 votes. But advocates of medical cannabis have contended that zoning restrictions are too tight.
The new initiative, if it makes it onto the ballot and is approved by voters, would allow dispensaries in more locations, including near small day care centers. It would allow marijuana deliveries within the city limits and prohibit revoking a dispensary’s permit unless it was found to constitute a serious threat and reckless disregard for public health, safety and general welfare.
Besides concerns over medical cannabis issues, some in the city also voice concern over the $300,000 cost to hold a special election in Lemon Grove, a community already running a lean budget.