Recreational pot may have become legal in California on January 1, but the product is far from easily accessible in all corners of the state. This includes the availability of medical marijuana distributed by the dispensaries that replaced marijuana collectives.
According to the Sac Bee, “Three months into the rollout of commercial marijuana, residents in about 40 percent of the state have to drive 60 miles or more to find a licensed dispensary to buy legal marijuana. These areas can be considered ‘pot deserts,’ borrowing from a term often applied to healthy food and grocery stores.”
Why so sparse? It all comes down to local regulation. Per the Sac Bee story, “The legalization initiative, Proposition 64, gave local government the authority to ban or regulate commercial cannabis. Many communities have chosen to ban.”
You can read more about the topic, see a map of current dispensaries, and learn how the industry hopes to improve the situation here.
