Patient advocates respond with Sacramento press conference, during lobby day for statewide regulations
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Supreme Court ruled today in the case City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center that local governments may ban the distribution of medical marijuana and are not preempted by state law by doing so. However, the court also recognized the legality of dispensaries, more than 1,000 of which currently exist and operate throughout the state. More than 50 localities in California officially regulate the distribution of medical marijuana, while nearly 200 cities ban the activity outright. Notably, the court emphasized that, “nothing prevents future efforts by the Legislature, or by the People, to adopt a different approach.”