IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The Upland City Council has asked for a report on how it should deal with an initiative that would allow three medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
The council, which wants more information on how the dispensaries would operate, passed a motion by a 3-2 vote Monday, according to a report published in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Council members Debbie Stone and Gino Filippi cast the dissenting votes. The report is expected be ready in one month.
The study will help the council decide whether to adopt it as an ordinance without any changes or to let the voters decide the issue in a special election, which would cost nearly $180,000, the report stated.
If approved, all three dispensaries would set up shop in the northwest part of the city, and all three would be required to pay $75,000 a year in licensing and inspection fees, the report stated.
Richard Adams, Upland’s interim city attorney, has expressed concerns about those fees being a tax. Councilman Glenn Bozar has questioned whether the dispensaries would even be legal.
More than 5,700 valid signatures have been gathered in favor of the initiative, more than enough to qualify it for a special election or to be placed on the ballot in a general election, the report stated.
