Pot Backlash: Half-Dozen Cities, Counties Ban Marijuana Clinics

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While scouring the Internet for medical marijuana news, I’ve seen a fair share of stories over the past week about cities and communities banning pot shops.

Here are some of the latest developments on this front:

– California is a hotbed of activity when it comes to bans. City council members and local officials in Glendale, Downey, Los Gatos, Fresno County and Kern County recently voted to ban medical marijuana centers and related operations.

– City council members in Davidson, Michigan, extended a moratorium on medical marijuana for another 12 months.

– City council members in North Bend, Washington, unanimously backed a move to ban the production and distribution of medical marijuana for six months, ostensibly to “protect city employees from potential federal prosecution and to study how to zone facilities with have been legalized by the state, such as collective gardens,” according to the SnoValley Star.

I can’t really say if it’s a higher number than usual (and, to be fair, two small towns passed laws in the past week paving the way for medical marijuana dispensaries). But it did catch my eye. The developments show that the medical marijuana industry is still in a significant state of flux and that there’s a deep division among communities, cities and states when it comes to pot.