It's time to start regulating and taxing the medical marijuana indsutry the proper way! It's time to start regulating and taxing the medical marijuana indsutry the proper way!

This marijuana issue is going to come back and bite Kern County in the rear. They've already hit a number of places that were in compliance with state laws, and preventing dispensaries and limiting the number of plants is only going to create a heap of problems and lawsuits that we cannot afford and a war we cannot win. Bust one, another pops up, this time in a rental home or on public land.

We don't have to allow 50 dispensaries and can limit to 10 or less as we did prior to 2009, and we can certainly control and regulate where they operate and where they grow, along with who runs them.

California tax authorities estimate that the state currently collects $58 million to $105 million in sales taxes on $700 million to $1.3 billion in annual retail sales of medical marijuana. So why not properly control and regulate our local market and gain some tax revenue? It's not like the county can't set specific guidelines, and the way it is being done now is not going to gain control.