cannabisnews.com: LA Council Set To Vote on Marijuana Ordinance
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LA Council Set To Vote on Marijuana Ordinance
Posted by CN Staff on January 19, 2010 at 07:32:39 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press
Los Angeles, CA -- The Los Angeles City Council is poised to vote on a medical marijuana ordinance after months of hammering out criteria that would shutter hundreds of dispensaries.Council members will take up the issue once again Tuesday, and they will be presented two drafts, both of which include capping the number of clinics at 70. The move would close most shops that don't comply with the new law.
The main difference between the two versions is the distance dispensaries should be from schools, parks and other public gathering spots.Hundreds of dispensaries have opened in Los Angeles over the past couple of years despite a moratorium on new clinics.While other California cities such as San Francisco, Oakland and West Hollywood have been able to regulate medical marijuana, Los Angeles city officials have fumbled with the ordinance for years and are trying to adopt language that jibes with state law.Since 2005, the number of pot shops in Los Angeles has grown from a mere four to roughly 1,000. That's more than the number of Starbucks and public schools in the city.The proliferation of clinics exploded this year — more than 600 over the past 10 months alone —despite a 2007 city moratorium prohibiting new medical marijuana dispensaries. The shop owners took advantage of a loophole known as a "hardship exemption" that allowed them to open while awaiting city approval.However, more than 180 clinics qualified to remain open because they came before the ban was enacted. About 137 of those dispensaries still exist and would be allowed to remain open if they meet other requirements in the new law.Council members will take up the issue once again Tuesday, and they will be presented two drafts, both of which include capping the number of clinics at 70. The move would close most shops that don't comply with the new law.The main difference between the two versions is the distance dispensaries should be from schools, parks and other public gathering spots.Hundreds of dispensaries have opened in Los Angeles over the past couple of years despite a moratorium on new clinics.While other California cities such as San Francisco, Oakland and West Hollywood have been able to regulate medical marijuana, Los Angeles city officials have fumbled with the ordinance for years and are trying to adopt language that jibes with state law.Since 2005, the number of pot shops in Los Angeles has grown from a mere four to roughly 1,000. That's more than the number of Starbucks and public schools in the city.The proliferation of clinics exploded this year — more than 600 over the past 10 months alone —despite a 2007 city moratorium prohibiting new medical marijuana dispensaries. The shop owners took advantage of a loophole known as a "hardship exemption" that allowed them to open while awaiting city approval.However, more than 180 clinics qualified to remain open because they came before the ban was enacted. About 137 of those dispensaries still exist and would be allowed to remain open if they meet other requirements in the new law.Medical marijuana advocates argue the council's inability to provide clear regulations has led to the growth of pot shops in Los Angeles. Residents also have grown frustrated with the bottleneck as they've seen dispensaries creep closer to their homes.Even if the ordinance is signed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, dispensary owners are unsure they will be able to operate without being arrested. They have said they sell marijuana to their customers as a way to cover their expenses.Both drafts of the ordinance say "no collective shall operate for profit." However, "cash and in-kind contributions" as well as "reasonable compensation" would be accepted.Some law enforcement officials believe any cash trading hands is illegal under state law.Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said his office will target pot clinics that profit and sell to people who don't qualify for medical marijuana. Cooley said he believes state law authorizes the possession, use and cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but not the sale of the drug.City Attorney Carmen Trutanich had also sought to ban sales at dispensaries, but the council ignored his advice.Under the ordinance, dispensaries would have to close until they comply with the new local law. City officials would seek an injunction against those who don't.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressURL: http://drugsense.org/url/o347Cj7MCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on January 19, 2010 at 15:08:14 PT
Well
He might. You never know. He might humble himself for the barber's sake.He might.
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on January 19, 2010 at 15:05:03 PT
Just had a funny thought.
If God was real, and God had hair, sometimes, like a human, I bet he would wear it long and loose.What? God go to a barber for a shave and a haircut?
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 19, 2010 at 13:41:02 PT
LA Council Gives Pot Law Preliminary Approval
January 19, 2010 Los Angeles - (AP) -- A medical marijuana ordinance appears poised for final approval next week in Los Angeles.The City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to the plan that would close most of the hundreds of pot dispensaries in Los Angeles.The ordinance passed 11-3, one vote shy of not needing a second vote. The second reading is scheduled for next week and only eight votes will be needed for final approval.The ordinance would cap the number of dispensaries at 70 and require them to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks and other public gathering spots.Hundreds of dispensaries have opened in Los Angeles over the past couple years, despite a moratorium on new clinics.Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressURL: http://www.kionrightnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11846941
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 19, 2010 at 13:23:37 PT
Related News From The Los Angeles Times Blog
L.A. City Council Gives Preliminary Approval To Pot Ordinance Requiring 1,000-Foot Buffer Zones ***January 19, 2010 The Los Angeles City Council settled the remaining controversial issue and voted today to adopt a medical marijuana ordinance requiring dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet from places where children congregate, such as schools, parks and libraries.The council will have to vote again in a week because the 11-3 tally fell short of the 12-0 result that an ordinance needs to pass on the first reading, but members were relieved to end the excruciatingly meandering debate over the city's fast-spreading pot outlets."Our moment is now, our moment is today. We've been discussing it for two-plus years," Councilman Herb Wesson said in urging the council to vote.The ordinance sets new rules for dispensaries that council members hope will curtail the anything-goes environment that made Los Angeles the vivid epicenter of the money-fueled Green Rush that erupted when the Obama administration announced last year that it would no longer prosecute dispensaries adhering to California's medical marijuana laws.Hundreds of dispensaries have opened despite the city's 2007 moratorium, angering neighborhoods that have seen store after store pop up on main commercial boulevards.The City Council began to consider the issue four and a half years ago when it asked the police department to make recommendations. The department found just four dispensaries, but called for rules to keep them from schools and recreational areas. Two years later, when the council imposed its moratorium on new stores, 186 registered with the city to operate under the ban.The ordinance caps the number of dispensaries at 70, but allows exceptions for those that registered under the moratorium and are still in business. All other dispensaries will have to close, though some are making plans to challenge the city's ordinance in court.Dispensaries will have to comply with numerous restrictions. The law aims to shut down the late-night pot club scene, banning on-site consumption and requiring dispensaries to close at 8 p.m. Collectives will have to keep extensive records on their operations and cannot make a profit, a restriction that is likely to be enforced by special units in the police department.The ordinance will not take effect until the council sets the registration fee that collectives will have to pay, a decision city officials said could be made in the next few weeks.-- John HoeffelCopyright: 2010 Los Angeles TimesURL: http://drugsense.org/url/UzOFzhwD
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on January 19, 2010 at 12:38:41 PT
Really.
I never ceased to be amazed at the fear that cannabis prohibitionists have of this plant.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 19, 2010 at 10:03:25 PT
MI: Lawmakers Consider Changes To Medical Pot Law
January 19, 2010LANSING (AP) -- Patients authorized to have marijuana for medical purposes in Michigan would no longer be allowed to grow their own supply under legislation pending in the state Senate.The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony Tuesday on bills that would change the voter-approved program that began last year.The biggest change would provide for licensed marijuana growing facilities rather than letting authorized patients or caregivers grow their own. No more than 10 facilities could be licensed per year.Marijuana would be distributed through pharmacists.Critics of the legislation say it's an attempt to make getting marijuana more difficult.More than 7,000 patients and 3,000 caregivers already are registered under a state program that began in April.Copyright: 2010 by The Associated PressURL: http://www.connectmidmichigan.com/news/story.aspx?id=403780
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Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on January 19, 2010 at 09:41:02 PT
interesting study
This is a fascinating paper that could be very insightful today as we consider how to end cannabis prohibition:http://centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/papers/96/9607ind.htmlfor example, instead of an exhorbitant $50/ounce tax that will preserve the black market, we could adopt the "French Model", THIS is what they should be doing in California:5.2.3.1 The French Model France, one of the world's premier wine-growing states, set the excise tax on still wine at a minimal level.[113] The tax had little economic impact, either as a revenue source or a price disincentive, but it allowed the French government to monitor the movement of wine whose value on the commercial market is largely a function of its controlled origin. The government could thus help to ensure that wines sold under the name of a particular region or locality are genuine, maintaining the reputation of the producers and the value of their export earnings. The excise system also enabled the government to monitor patterns of, and fluctuations in, the production, distribution, and consumption of what may be France's most important--and sensitive--agricultural product. 
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on January 19, 2010 at 09:32:16 PT
more
does this sound familiar???>>>Prohibitionists didn't give up easily. They even tried to enforce Prohibition for as long as ten years after its repeal by the Twenty-first Amendmentas Ziggy Marley said, "don't know your past, don't know your future"
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on January 19, 2010 at 09:31:02 PT
great website
was digging around & found this:http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/funfacts/prohibition.htmlThe WCTU is far from dead or inactive; it currently boasts a membership of 25,000 and is very active politically. 15Prohibition agents routinely broke the law themselves. They shot innocent people and regularly destroyed citizens' vehicles, homes, businesses, and other valuable property. They even illegally sank a large Canadian ship. 14The Anti-Saloon League still exists; it is now (combined with the American Temperance League) known as the American Council on Alcohol Problems and actively attempts to influence public policyAlthough Prohibition was repealed seven decades ago, there are still hundreds of dry counties across the United States today
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Comment #2 posted by DaveinFlorida on January 19, 2010 at 08:23:51 PT
Starbucks Coffee
You know, there always are saying there are more dispinsarys than Starbucks. Well,, I just went to google maps, selected search maps(business)and typed in a couple of different searchs:Starbucks coffee shops in LA 4987 results,
Coffee shops in LA     113,299 results,
Cannabis shops in LA     1020 results,
Medical Marijuana shops in LA 2174 results, 
CVS pharmacies in LA     3000 results,
pharmacies in LA       8100 results
Walgreens pharmices in LA   585 resultsTry it for yourself.
I quess the point is that the media compares, but they don't really do it properly
 
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on January 19, 2010 at 08:22:27 PT
Constitution
It's interesting to look back at the founding fathers and what they put into the consitution and bill of rights. "Freedom to Assemble" When I was in school I never understood why this was such a big deal. Now I see how critical it is! They never want working people or the underclasses to get together in the same place. That's how social and political organizing happens. And the elite always lose by the numbers, the corporate/government elite is only a tiny percentage of the population.Do you think Big Pharma wants cannabis users to regularly gather together in groups? To discuss how well their pills work vs. cannabis? With no bribe-taking doctors around? Does the government want political activists to gather in groups?What is the alternative to gathering together? Inevitably for most, it's sitting in front of the TV, being brainwashed with consumerist garbage.You can see now that the freedom to assemble is almost completely gone. You can't assemble to use cannabis. You can't get together to smoke tobacco. You can only get together to consume alcohol under certain very specific and limited circumstances and under tight security control.You can't get together in public places, in most towns and cities any sort of loitering or gatherings are immediately accosted by large numbers of armed thugs for violations of various niggling laws and ordinances such as "disorderly conduct", "blocking the sidewalk", etc.In Paris they banned indoor smoking, now people smoke on the sidewalks by the bars and cafes. Today the issue is noise - all of sudden the rich people don't like the noise of people talking at night outside all the bars. The solution? Closing the bars of course!Only when the final endgame arrives and you're at HOA-controlled home in front of the TV do you realize the full impact of the 80-year campaign against personal freedom and liberty.
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