San Diego, one of the major tourist and residential hubs in the State of California, is another bustling space for the new and expanding marijuana business. San Diego medical marijuana dispensaries are some of the most developed ones in the country, in terms of technology and its applications, so much so that some of them even have smartphone apps for their businesses!

In adherence to the State of California rules and regulations for the dispensation, possession and storage of marijuana, San Diego residents can acquire the special permit needed to avail of the medical marijuana services as provided by the regulated ‘cooperatives’.

The debate regarding decriminalizing as well as providing open access to marijuana has been going on in the country for decades now and it must be noted that it all started here, in San Diego. This movement of years came to a somewhat culmination in 1996 when the bill termed as Compassionate Use Act was enacted to allow the use of medical marijuana to people in dire pain as a form of palliative care.

The medical authorities are required to recommend and prescribe the requisite doses of medical marijuana to a valid registry card holder. The medical marijuana card- San Diego County refers to this as the MMP registry card– is the single most essential document for patients and caregivers. This patient, or their primary caregiver on their behalf, can purchase the prescribed amounts of medical marijuana from the authorized channels for personal use. It must be noted that the State Laws in California do not allow for a person to drive a vehicle under the influence of any substance or drug whatsoever, even medicines.

The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 was put to actual and widespread use in 2004 under the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP). This program allows the patients who truly require alleviative care to use marijuana as a medicine and the Department of Health, State of California will bear the onus of making the medicines available to the patients.

How to start a marijuana dispensary in San Diego?

The term ‘dispensary’ is not recognised in the state of California as a lawful outfit. Hence the terms ‘cooperatives’ or ‘collectives’ are used. In June, 2010 the San Diego Country board of Supervisors showed the green light to the County Medical Marijuana Collective Program. This program, CMMCP, drew the outline, rules and regulation regarding how the marijuana dispensaries in San Diego county (collectives) can and should operate. This included licensing, quality maintenance, rules for dispensation and storage, bookkeeping and zoning. San Diego dispensaries need to adhere to these rules strictly in order to be able to receive continuation permits. This is the primary directive under which collectives need to operate in the San Diego County. More about this can be found by visiting this webpage.

If you need to access more information about the rules regarding medical marijuana dispensaries in California, please click here.