In the last two years, medical marijuana dispensaries have been popping up throughout Inland communities. Often operating in the ‘gray’ area of the laws, these cooperatives often have to not only follow the law, but in many cases they have to divine what the laws are. It can be a tricky proposition, and it’s made all the more difficult because some communities don’t want the cooperatives operating at all.

But as legal bills mount, and legal pressure from cities and counties continue, some cooperatives are forced to close their doors and move their shops to other, more accepting communities.

Among the tools being used by municipalities are steep fines for operating outside of code and ordinances banning the shops entirely. Beaumont fined one dispensary $600,000; San Jacinto levied a $639,000 fine against another until it shut down.

These aren’t the exception to the rule, either. In fact, it might soon be the norm. Governor Brown signed AB 1300 which re-asserted the rights of local governments to control marijuana dispensaries.

From the Press Enterprise:

Inland area cities and counties are working to close storefront medical marijuana dispensaries that have appeared all over the landscape in the past two years.

The store operators and their attorneys say they are legitimate businesses under California’s Prop. 215, passed in 1996 by approval of 56 percent of voters. It authorized legal use of medical marijuana.

Read the full article here.