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View Winners → The High Cost and High Profits of Marijuana Dispensaries
News Apr 11, 2017
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Pasadena ponders who many and where pot shops can operate in the city.
– Courtesy photo
Pasadena officials ponder potential pot shop location(s)
By Terry Miller
“Plants are good for your health, the more you grow, the more you… take in as annual revenue?,” according to KightonCannabis.com, “Dispensaries in cannabis-legal states have been more than profitable in their annual sales and distribution of cannabis products. Some dispensaries in California claim to make upwards of $20 million in a calendar year. This is more than some Apple stores make.”
As of November 11, 2016, seven states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Marijuana legalization has been the source of heated debate in recent years. At first, legalization efforts focused on the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Proponents argue that legalization of marijuana for recreational use will introduce safety and regulatory controls, making the drug safer for consumption. In addition, proponents argue that taxes associated with legal marijuana could provide a revenue boost for state and local governments. Opponents point to concerns about marijuana’s addictiveness and negative health impacts. Opponents also argue that marijuana can function as a gateway drug, leading users to seek out other more dangerous drugs. At the federal level, the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana have remained federal offenses.
With 57.12 percent of the vote, California passed Proposition 64, the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. The “yes” vote supported legalizing recreational marijuana for persons aged 21 years or older under state law and establishing certain sales and cultivation taxes.
The sale and subsequent taxation of recreational marijuana will not go into effect until January 1, 2018.
The city of Pasadena however, like many other cities across California are at an awkward crossroad as to where and when plus how many dispensaries will be allowed.
Therefore, local meetings will be held to analyze the situation and hopefully city officials and potential dispensary owners can come to an agreement and abide by the voters’ wishes.
City officials are holding a series of public meetings to help formulate a public policy. Three community meetings will be held, the first today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Pasadena Senior Center’s West Pavilion at 85 E. Holly St.
On April 18 at the Pasadena City Hall Basement Training Room, and April 20 at the AGBU High School Auditorium at 2495 E. Mountain Street, cross street Altadena.
