dispensary

Harborside Health Center in Oakland, CA is thought to be the world’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, with over 54,000 members. The king of the Oakland dispensaries in terms of sales, Harborside has fought – unsuccessfully – against the city raising sales taxes and against the allowing of large marijuana farms. The point of this article seems to be what a force they are in the industry, but they don’t seem to have any political pull in their own city.

Richmond city leaders will not wait until November after all to decide how to regulate marijuana dispensaries.

City attorneys are drafting an ordinance that would determine the number and locations of permitted pot clubs, among other provisions. It is scheduled to reach the City Council on Tuesday night.

That is earlier than planned. Officials initially wanted to hold off until after the November election to see if California voters will approve an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use for people 21 and older. But the council has now decided not to wait, in part because Richmond is dealing with uses other than for recreation.

A month ago, a mysterious letter was delivered to my house.

"Hi!" it read. "You may not know it, but there's a medical marijuana dispensary within 1000 feet of your residence. And if you're not already a client, we would like to introduce ourselves!"

Ah, the joys of living in Venice Beach.

The friendly letter went on to explain that, in light of the recent laws cracking down on the hundreds of medical marijuana shops that have sprung up in Los Angeles, this particular store wanted to make good in the neighborhood by letting everyone know what they were about. And invite anyone interested for a free tour.

Maine will soon announce eight sites for medical marijuana dispensaries, and Eliot could be among them. A non-profit organization called Green ReliefMD, based in South Berwick, has applied to open a dispensary at a property on Route 236 in Eliot, across from the Roadhouse Tavern.

Maine approved legislation in the fall of 2009 legalizing medicinal marijuana for registered patients suffering from certain medical conditions. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services received 29 applications from non-profit corporations to become dispensaries. The department will choose one dispensary for each of the state’s eight health districts and announce its selections on Friday, July 9.

Fresno County Supervisors will consider Tuesday putting a stop to medical marijuana dispensaries.

"Local law enforcement investigations have revealed that marijuana grown illegally on public lands has been sold in medical marijuana dispensaries. This point will be a serious factor in considering the recommended moratorium," said County Supervisor Perea.

If passed, the moratorium would be the first step in the process to prohibit marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Fresno County.

The nonprofit organization that will run at least half of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries has released more details on where and how those dispensaries could be located.

On Friday, the state awarded Northeast Patients Group licenses to operate dispensaries in four of the state's eight districts encompassing Cumberland County, four midcoast counties, and central and eastern Maine. The group, which has ties to California-based Berkeley Patients Group, is proposing to operate the Cumberland County dispensary at 959 Congress St. in Portland, the site of a former bank, which is close to other health care facilities and has security infrastructure, according to a press release from the group. Northeast Patients Group must complete negotiations to lease part of the building, which is also home to Mercy Hospital's diabetes center, according to the Portland Press Herald. The city's planning board Tuesday will consider a zoning change to allow a marijuana dispensary, and a council vote could happen as early as July 19.

RIVERSIDE — A rolling marijuana dispensary has found a new parking spot after officials in the Southern California community of Norco chased it out of town.

Stewart Hauptman had provided medical pot from his motor home for about seven months until he was cited by police for violating a city ban on marijuana dispensaries.

Hauptman's Lakeview Collective-on-Wheels had been selling $10 pot cookies and other items outside a clinic.

Portland may join the commmunities putting the breaks on medical marijuana dispensaries, which were envisioned by supporters of a successful citizen initiative last year.

Igor Rakuz of the Maine Wellness Group wants to open a marijuana dispensary in the Portland area and says he's disappointed that the Portland City Council is only now considering putting a hold on dispensaries.

Medical marijuana patients and dozens of dispensaries lost an eleventh-hour bid Friday to stop a city ordinance from going into effect next week, but a judge indicated that both groups may have a legitimate basis for an injunction at a later date.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant cleared the way for the ordinance to take effect Monday by denying more than a dozen requests for a temporary restraining order to bar the city from enforcing the law, which would force more than 400 shops to shutter their doors.

Attorneys for patients using medical marijuana had filed a class-action lawsuit against the city last week, contending that the law would unconstitutionally bar patients' access to their medicine.

The patients, who estimate that more than 100,000 Los Angeles residents are in their ranks, suffer from illnesses ranging from anxiety and menopause to lupus or AIDS, according to their lawsuit.

LONGMONT — If House Bill 1284 puts Larry Hill out of business, he has a back-up plan.

“Personally, I’m 63 years old. I’m going fishing,” the medical marijuana dispensary owner said with a smile.

But Hill’s humor belies a real fear: that new state regulations — and more to come — will wipe out Colorado’s medical marijuana industry or drive it back into the shadows. Which, some say, was lawmakers’ intention.

“They are going to accomplish one thing: They are going to accomplish putting medical marijuana underground,” Hill said.