The confusion over state, federal, and local laws concerning medical marijuana dispensaries is heating up in San Jose. That's where dozens of people openly lit up on Friday night, in a place city leaders insist is off limits.

They lit up and smoked out in San Jose for a fundraiser and unity party at a medical marijuana collective which is all in response to a series of raids on pot clubs in Santa Clara County.

"We're trying to protect every medical marijuana collective in Santa Clara County because they raided seven collectives yesterday," says Shelby Ferry, a Santa Clara resident.

Right now, no South Bay city allows medical marijuana dispensaries to legally operate.

Dave Hodges, from the San Jose Cannabis Buyers Collective, was asked if he thought what he was doing was legal and he responds, "It's 100 percent legal."

"A lot of people think things are legal that are not legal," says San Jose City Councilmember Pete Constant.

Currently, there are 99 pot clubs in San Jose and according to city leaders they are all illegal because the city doesn't have a zoning ordinance to allow for them.

"We need to provide more access to more patients and that basically means San Jose is completely open until they pass some sort of regulation," says Hodges.

On Monday San Jose's City Council will hold a special meeting to establish zoning regulations so pot clubs can legally open in the city, but until that happens, council member Constant says the smokeout is inappropriate.

ABC7 showed him photos of what was going on inside the MedEx Collective on Friday night.

"There's a lot of haze in this picture," says Constant. "What are the odds that everyone needs their medicine at the same time and is it really medicinal act or are these people simply using this as an excuse to smoke marijuana?"

Everyone inside the collective insists their needs are legitimate and they have the paperwork to prove it with their medical marijuana cards.

"I have bad back pains," says Ferry.

"I also have fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and my bones are getting deformed," says Patricia Sanchez, a San Jose resident.

(Source: abclocal.com)