Community Responses to Laws in States Decriminalizing Medical Marijuana

Thus far, 15 jurisdictions have passed laws decriminalizing medical marijuana. States that have passed these laws allow patients to possess, and in many cases cultivate, small quantities of marijuana for medical purposes without being subject to state criminal penalties. These state laws vary, however, in a number of significant aspects. All states, except NJ and the District of Columbia, permit patients or their caregivers to grow their own marijuana but many are silent as to how else patients might obtain the drug. More recent state laws (and amendments to pre-existing laws), however, are permitting the establishment of dispensaries. For example, Maine recently revised its law to allow establishment of non-profit dispensaries. Rhode Island, which passed its law in 2006, allows for the creation of compassion centers that can dispense marijuana, New Jersey allows creation of alternative treatment centers that can dispense marijuana, and D.C.'s new law permits obtaining marijuana only from dispensaries registered with the Mayor's office. Efforts to regulate these dispensaries in many jurisdictions are falling to local governments which are using zoning or other ordinances to either limit the number of dispensaries and/or regulate their operation. This presentation will compare how local governments are regulating medical marijuana dispensaries and the challenges they face in doing so as well as challenges to having such dispensaries within communities, e.g., crime, diversion and abuse. It will also recommend best practices for regulation of dispensaries in states that have decriminalized medical marijuana.