Lake County rescinds pot dispensary regulations

Lake County supervisors Tuesday rescinded an ordinance that would have limited the number of pot dispensaries in the unincorporated county to five.

The 3-2 vote came in response to a signature gathering effort by marijuana advocates to overturn the ordinance by referendum.

The advocates collected 3,540 valid signatures, more than enough to force supervisors to either place the issue on a voter ballot or overturn their ordinance.

Proponents of the referendum said the ordinance would unfairly limit the number of dispensaries.

Supervisor Rob Brown said rescinding the ordinance will have the opposite of their desired effect. "Now all dispensaries are illegal in Lake County," he said.

The ordinance would have legitimized medical pot dispensaries, in so much as that's possible, Brown said.

He said rescinding the ordinance is probably a good idea anyway, given the recent crackdown on dispensaries by federal authorities, who do not recognize medicinal marijuana as being legal.

Marijuana advocates also have vowed to collect signatures against the county's new ordinance prohibiting outdoor pot growing on parcels smaller than a half acre.