San Jose Tightens Restrictions on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

New rules mean all of San Jose cannabis dispensaries may go out of business

San Jose has put its medical marijuana dispensaries on notice -- it's time for them to go.

New rules adopted by the San Jose City Council late Tuesday night mean medical marijuana shops are now banned near homes and within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, rec centers and other places where children, families or recovering drug addicts might congregate, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

VIDEO: San Jose to Increase Taxes on Medical Marijuana

In other words, all but 1 percent of the city is now off-limits to legal weed -- and in other words, nearly all of San Jose's 82 pot shops are illegal and must shut down, the newspaper reported.

San Jose does not expressly allow dispensaries, but it does collect a local tax from them that brings in as much as $5 million to city coffers.

That's chump change compared to the threat to children, who are getting their hands on medical weed, according to cannabis dispensary opponents. Drug-related suspensions are up as much as 243 percent, according to the Public Defender.

An effort to ban the dispensaries outright failed before the tighter rules were appoved.

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