I keep reading about how cities are opposed to medical marijuana dispensaries because of how much they attract crime.  Hold that thought.  Recently I visited my local Chase Bank and they were in the middle of renovating the entire bank… to include bullet proof glass, updated surveillance cameras and offices for the individual bankers.   I had a working relationship with the bank manager and asked her why they were adding all of the security features and her reply was “we have had five bank robberies in the last 12 months.”

Interestingly I live right down the street from this bank and not once heard anything about it being robbed.  It never hit the newspapers, TV or radio yet 5 times in the past year it was held up at gunpoint.    I left thinking to myself “banks really do attract crime”…. yet they are scattered everywhere in the city of Orange and all had the approval of the city to be there.   Why do cities allow them?   Obviously that’s a rhetorical question but my point is banks attract way more crime than any medical marijuana dispensary.   FBI statistics for the first 3 months of 2010 showed 1160 bank robberies resulting in 35 people taken hostage, 2 deaths and 18 injuries.

It is honestly inevitable that any business that has cash and something of value for sale that there will be crime at some point.   However a medical marijuana dispensary is no different than a bank,  jewelry  or convenience store when it comes to being a target for criminals.   Part of the problem is that local ordinances have forced dispensaries to set up in areas where there is more crime in general.

I can say that the majority of patients I see for medical marijuana recommendations are middle age, conservative and mostly outstanding citizens.   They are not using cannabis for recreational purposes and just want a safe and professional location to pick up their medicine and go home.   They are not looking to loiter, disturb the neighbors or bring “blight” to the neighborhood.  In fact many live in the same neighborhood that their dispensaries are located.  They actually appreciate them.

Here are some recommendations that I think would make sense for cities when considering how to regulate dispensaries.

1. Require dispensaries to have merchant accounts so that they do not have to handle cash.   Right now most of the national banks will not open accounts for dispensaries because marijuana is illegal federally.  However until dispensaries can run credit cards that go to a bank they are forced to handle and keep cash on site.

2. Require all dispensaries have video surveillance.

3. Make it illegal to have armed security at dispensaries.

4. Perform background checks on all dispensary owners and their employees and not allow any person involved to have any criminal history.

5. Allow them to operate in medical facilities just like pharmacies do.  Do not restrict them to industrial areas way off the beaten path.   Patients should not be forced to drive to locations where it is obvious why they are there.   They become targets for criminals.   Treat dispensaries like any other business and allow them to operate where any other legal business can operate.  I believe that these people should be treated like patients.  It is intimidating enough for them to do to a dispensary… let alone force them to go to the one area in Santa Ana that is ok with dispensaries… areas that are not safe to begin with.

6. Let the market determine how many the city should allow.  Honestly, if Irvine has enough patients to support 20 dispensaries then that should be the number allowed.   If there isn’t a market for them then they simply will not last.  Basic supply and demand.

7. Allow them to make a profit and report that income to the state… and let them pay sales tax like any other business.

That is my two sense.

Dr. Breen