A new medical marijuana dispensary has opened in Pacific Beach amid news that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by San Diego and San Bernardino counties seeking to challenge the validity of California's medical marijuana laws.
The north PB store, Pacific Beach Collective, opened at 929A Turquoise St. on Monday, May 11 to split reactions. Several neighboring business owners and community members say the facility will attract crime and illegal drug use to the neighborhood.
“I don’t see any positive aspects to it,” 20-year-old Jack Story told the Beach and Bay Press. “It’s probably not good for business.”
“There’s nothing wrong or illegal, and they’re certainly necessary, but as someone who walks around with her children – for me – that’s not the kind of business we want in our community,” said Dawna Deatrick, president of Friends of Pacific Beach Elementary School, a parent-teacher organization. “It’s a necessary evil but we just don’t want it in our backyard.”
Other community members hope that people can see that it's necessary for some people.
“Hopefully people can understand that it’s the lesser of two evils when it’s necessary,” 36-year-old Pacific Beach resident Robert told Beach and Bay Press.
Pacific Beach Collective is protected under California law because of Proposition 215. The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 legalized marijuana for seriously ill persons as long as they have a doctor’s recommendation, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Steve Walter told Beach and Bay Press.
