SAN BERNARDINO — The city’s existing ban on medical marijuana dispensaries is too expensive and conflicts with voters’ decision to allow access to medical marijuana, said the majority of those addressing a possible change in the city’s marijuana policy Tuesday.
The discussion by the city’s legislative review committee, which consists of three of the seven City Council members, was intended to gather information on the difficulties the city has had enforcing its ban and on the possibility of replacing it with a regulatory framework.
That discussion will continue Monday, when the full council is set to vote on whether to poll residents for their opinions about marijuana. Then, the legislative review committee will discuss marijuana again June 14.
For the elected officials on the committee, though, a policy change seems to be increasingly inevitable.
“I’m trying to find a reason why we should continue with our ban, and it just doesn’t make sense, anywhere,” said Councilman Benito Barrios. “Are we as a council now willing to move forward and say: Are we going to regulate or not?” [Read more at the San Bernardino Sun]