Kern County residents upset about a local ban on medical marijuana dispensaries did what any good political activist would do. They launched a petition drive to undo it. And this week they succeeded in getting the requisite 17,350 signatures.

Marijuana advocates in Fresno County are taking note.

After supervisors here outlawed storefront marijuana dispensaries last month -- and confined cultivation of the herb to a handful of industrial areas -- dispensary owners and their supporters vowed to start a similar referendum, but they're yet to move forward.

The events down south are apt to provide a boost.

In Kern County, the Board of Supervisors is now faced with the option of repealing the county ban or putting the issue before voters in next June's primary election.

The same would hold in Fresno County, should medical marijuana supporters proceed with their petition drive and get the slightly more than 20,000 signatures that would be required here.

Local supporters said this month that's still the plan. We'll wait and see.

In the meantime, check out James Burger's story in the Californian.