San Diego will have its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary within city limits.
The San Diego Development Service Commission approved the City of San Diego’s first medical marijuana dispensary license Wednesday.
The company called A Green Alternative will be located on Roll Drive in Otay Mesa.
Dr. David Blair, a business ethics professor who teaches a course through San Diego State University, said they have done everything the city has asked.
“We’re just so thrilled, grateful and humbled by it,” Blair said of the permit approval.
Having been diagnosed with HIV and PID, Blair uses medicinal marijuana and recalls having to drive to Los Angeles to get his prescription filled legally.
He said he is dedicated to following the rules and setting an example for other marijuana dispensaries that may come to San Diego.
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“We play by the rules. We always intend to play by the rules and we will only play by the rules,” Blair said.
Opponents warned the one-story commercial building where the dispensary will be located is not the right place for a pot shop.
“With it being in an area with many families that are coming to and from, that’s definitely a concern. These are not benign businesses as some have portrayed them,” Barbara Gordon told the committee.
At the end of a 10-day appeal period and background checks, the permit will be official.
The dispensary will be located at 2335 Roll Drive #4 near near Siempre Viva Road just east of State Route 905.
Blair noted that when he is teaching, he does not medicate the day before so he can be alert for his classes.
