As pot clubs proliferate, San Jose mayor warns they remain illegal

By John Woolfolk

Updated: 11/18/2009 09:46:33 PM PST

Medicinal marijuana dispensaries have sprouted like weeds in San Jose since a city councilman proposed regulations to permit and tax them.

But Mayor Chuck Reed warned Wednesday that they remain illegal under current city law and that any that open are doing so at their own risk. A committee Reed leads that sets council agendas considered Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio's proposal to regulate and tax marijuana dispensaries. City officials said they would return to the committee in January to lay out the steps needed to craft such an ordinance.

Several supporters, many of whom use marijuana to treat various illnesses, urged the city to quickly develop a set of rules. Erika Taylor Montgomery, who represents the San Jose Cannabis Buyers Collective, said such operations — which California voters endorsed with approval of Proposition 215 in 1996 — can be a benefit to the cash-strapped city.

Montgomery said the Cannabis Buyers Collective, which opened four months ago, just paid $13,000 in sales taxes. She also warned that the absence of clear regulations has allowed such businesses to multiply, with five now operating in San Jose and more on the way.

"I think this is an important issue to take up expediently," Montgomery said.