Medical Marijuana Ballot Measure Headed for Lemon Grove, Other Cities?

Updated at 9:30 p.m. March 30, 2012

Lemon Grove has no medical marijuana dispensaries, but the city could be a haven for pot shops if a proposed ballot measure is approved (see attached PDF), according to a U-T San Diego report Friday.

Measures sought in five cities—including Encinitas, Lemon Grove and La Mesa—take their cue from one planned for the city of San Diego (attached).

Lemon Grove Councilman George Gastil was quoted by the U-T as saying pot clinics have “made a huge difference for those who need it medically.” But he worried about the rules, telling the paper: “It’s a whole big discussion that we haven’t had.”

The U-T reported that all five efforts are being coordinated by Citizens for Patient Rights with help from the trade group Patient Care Association.

“Our organization has wanted to create safe access throughout as much of the county as possible,” James Schmachtenberger, chairman of the PCA, was quoted as saying.

“As we began collecting signatures for the initiative in San Diego, we saw the need of patients in outlying areas and we realized we were just under the deadline for when ballot measures would need to be turned in to qualify for the election in November.”

In November 2011, a La Mesa Patch poll asked: Should marijuana for medical and recreational use be legalized on the federal level? The result of the unscientific poll was 87 percent yes, 11 percent no.