[420 Girl]

Fearing the city could become a magnet for medical marijuana dispensaries, and the criminal element the police chief says comes with them, the City Council has voted 4-0 to ban the businesses.

Police Chief Marty West said Oakdale joins Modesto, Riverbank, Ceres and Turlock in banning dispensaries.

The city hasn't received a request to open a dispensary, West noted. It would only be a matter of time before a request arrived, he said, because of the bans in neighboring cities.

West said dispensaries would damage Oakdale's quality of life by inviting criminals, vagrants and other bad elements into the city in hopes of selling, buying or in some other way getting a piece of the marijuana business.

He cited reams of reports from law enforcement across the state detailing assaults, robberies and home invasions, all of which he attributed to the presence of medical marijuana dispensaries.

Assaults and robberies also occur near bars and liquor stores, but West added that dispensing marijuana violates federal law. State law allows residents with medical marijuana cards to buy and consume it, but West said federal law trumps state law.

While a hot topic in some cities, the issue virtually went without notice in Oakdale. No one spoke for or against the proposal during Monday's public hearing.

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