SAN DIEGO -- The city of San Diego's newly formed Medical Marijuana Task Force continued to listen to both sides of the medical marijuana debate Friday, mostly regarding guidelines for local dispensaries.

Parents have expressed concern about drugs near local schools, but at the same time patients worry they're pain-relieving medication will be out of reach.

"This is a burgeoning industry that doesn't have any rules or regulations. The neighborhoods and the communities are concerned about the operations and the crime associated with it and the drug culture associated with it," said Craig Beresh, of Southern California NORML.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws submitted a set of suggested regulations to the task force Friday.

"I don't know that you'll accept everything in here but I think this is a very good guidelines for you to go with," said a supporter of NORML's proposal.

The guidelines call for schools to be located a minimum of 500 feet away from a marijuana dispensary. 10News research showed at least three schools near dispensaries: Pacific Beach Elementary School, Edison Elementary School in City Heights and St. Charles Borromeo Academy in Point Loma are all within a half mile or less from dispensaries.

NORML said anything beyond 1,000 feet is unreasonable.

"Pharmacies are all over the town and they get close to a school, too. I mean, where are we going to draw the line?" said a supporter of the guidelines.

"We have a situation where people are going to be coming into the neighborhood to buy their marijuana. They're going to be bringing crime into the neighborhood; it's going to have an impact on our children," said one resident.

The debate over where the dispensaries should be located goes on, but so far the task force has decided on a two-tier permit system -- one for smaller collectives, the other for large cooperatives. Each establishment should have a licensed unarmed security guard and windows should be unobstructed, the task force said.

The task force will present its recommendations to the city by January.

Officials said an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 people use medical marijuana in San Diego County

There are at least 60 dispensaries in San Diego, and under the attorney general's guidelines they must operate as not-for-profit collectives or cooperatives.