DIAMOND BAR >> Following the direction of other local cities, the City Council Tuesday voted to implement a permanent ban on all medical marijuana dispensaries less than a year after a storefront facility was shuttered by federal authorities.

The City Council first approved an extension of a temporary ban on medical marijuana clinics that will last until January 2015. It also introduced a second ordinance that will permanently ban medical marijuana operations from the city.

The permanent ordinance will go before the City Council for a second reading on March 4, said Ryan McLean, assistant to the city manager.

Both ordinances passed by 5-0 votes. No one from the audience spoke in favor or against the ban.

Previously, the city allowed one medical marijuana facility to operate in Diamond Bar. That facility was known as Farm Assist Caregivers, McLean said. The medical marijuana clinic was issued a business license in April 2006.

According to Mayor Carol Herrera, the dispensary was shut down by federal authorities sometime in 2013. The city was not sure of the exact closure date.

In November, Whittier banned medical marijuana clinics from the city, saying the city must abide by federal law.

In August, Covina banned all types of medicinal marijuana facilities from its city limits.

California voters approved the use of medical marijuana when they voted in favor of Proposition 215 in 1996. However, the law states that a medicinal marijuana dispensary cannot be a profit-making entity.

Covina City Councilman Walt Allen led the fight against the dispensaries in his city, saying most are only after the money and not interested in providing medicine to patients.

Allen, the former assistant director of the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, said studies have shown that medicinal marijuana clinics attract crime and lower property values.

“I know of not a single oncologist who would ever recommend to his or her patients they use marijuana as a pain reliever or for relief of nausea,” he said Tuesday. Allen’s wife lost her battle to cancer several years ago. He said there are many new medicines on the market that can counter the side effects of chemotherapy.

Allen agreed with the city of Diamond Bar’s decision. He said the battle will resume in 2016 over the attempts to legalize recreational marijuana, a decision the pro-marijuana groups said they would not pursue this year or next.

“I hope we never legalize it here in California,” Allen said, a reference to Colorado and Washington that have made retail sales of marijuana legal.