Gilbert declares medical marijuana 'emergency,' puts immediate cap on how many shops can sell weed

Gilbert, a town in Arizona has made it clear this week that they do not want more medical marijuana in their town. After opening just one dispensary, those who are still afraid of marijuana have called for emergency action to put an immediate cap on the number of dispensaries allowed in the area. Previous legislation allowed for only 2 dispensaries, however more could move into town from another area. The emergency legislation disallows any more than 2 total dispensaries in the town. Marijuana advocates argue that competition drives quality up and the price down and this limit is only hurting patients, not to mention the problem of only 2 dispensaries for a town of almost 250,000 residents.

Town leaders did not want to see a sudden influx of dispensaries, Mayor John W. Lewis said after the vote.  The emergency clause was added to put the change into effect immediately, Lewis said.

Elizabeth Valentine, who runs a scottsdale marijuana clinic, says a cap of 2 hurts some people's ability to get their medicine.