According to a poll commissioned last fall by KeepComingBack.com, San Diego city residents strongly favor tough regulatory oversight for medical marijuana dispensaries. As the national debate on legalizing medical marijuana continues into 2010, it is critical that lawmakers, community groups and families understanding the impact of major changes in drug policies on everyday people.

The poll, which surveyed 505 adults in the City of San Diego, found there is little tolerance for free-wheeling distribution of medical marijuana, particularly in residential areas.

When asked how the City of San Diego should approach dispensaries, 64% of respondents wanted dispensaries to be regulated, with the greatest support for strict control and heavy regulations. The poll also found that 64% (47% strongly agree, 17% somewhat agree) of San Diegans are in support of being notified when someone applies for a permit to open a dispensary in their area.

The survey also found that a strong majority of respondents in favor of prohibiting dispensaries from operating within residential neighborhoods (64%), requiring dispensaries from staying at least one thousand feet away from schools and youth facilities (83%), as well as fingerprinting and criminal background checks for dispensary employees and managers (87%).

Furthermore, San Diegans do not want more marijuana dispensaries than the City can afford to regulate; nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) oppose increasing the number of existing dispensaries if additional law enforcement resources are needed to keep them safe and compliant with city laws.

Poll respondents were also supportive of requiring all dispensaries to be not-for-profit (63%).

The policy implications of the KeepComingBack.com poll are broad. Drug legalization would have not only a devastating effect on the health and safety of our young people, but it would also present complex issues of drug distribution and access that may negatively impact neighborhoods across the country. If lawmakers and legalization advocates acknowledged the pitfalls of regulating medical marijuana and other drugs in the future, perhaps more public consensus could be built upon improving the treatment of substance abuse and addiction today.

The poll was conducted from October 14-17th 2009, and has a sampling error of +/- 4.4%.