As reported on Bakersfield.com:
Kern County banned commercial cannabis Tuesday.
Four of the five county supervisors said they did not want to be party to the permitting and regulation of an industry that wields such a destructive impact on the communities they represent.
“The vast majority of the pot shops in the greater Bakersfield area are in Oildale,” said Supervisor Mike Maggard.
He said his people, the residents and businesses in the poorest areas of his district, are being disproportionately impacted by marijuana dispensaries.
Maggard said suggesting that he allow an industry that has victimized his constituents for years to operate legally, simply for the money it might represent to county coffers, is offensive to him.
“I can’t turn my back on the neighborhoods I represent,” he said.
Supervisor Mick Gleason also supported the ban, but cautioned people not to expect that it will remove marijuana from Kern County. …
