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As the federal policing agencies back off from raiding medical marijuana dispensaries in California, the Los Angeles City Council today will vote to extend a 2007 moratorium banning new herb storefronts until a they come up with a plan that will better regulate them. From today's council agenda (.pdf):
RESOLVE to EXTEND the provisions of Ordinance No. 179027 imposing temporary interim regulations prohibiting any person or entity from establishing a Medical Marijuana Dispensary, and prohibiting any person or entity from operating a Medical Marijuana Dispensary, for a second and final six-month period ending on September 14, 2009, inasmuch as the appropriate City agencies and officials are exercising due diligence and actively working towards the adoption of the appropriate land use regulatory controls.
Back when the moratorium was approved, Councilman Dennis Zine said the “goal is to bring the sale of medicinal marijuana under control and regulated by a City entity so that distribution is safe and accessible to people that truly need medicinal cannabis to improve their quality of life. The purpose of this interim ordinance is to protect not only the right of patients to access the medications that they need, but also to rid the current distribution facilities of abuses that harm the areas surrounding the dispensary sites.”
Furthermore, today's resolution (.pdf) mentions how over zealous marketing and relaxed attitudes around schools was one of the issues that brought this to the city's attention.
The Los Angeles Police Department has received complaints from neighbors, business owners, and concerned citizens regarding the negative impacts of dispensaries, including flyers, leaflets and stickers advertising dispensaries being placed on school grounds; smoking marijuana outdoors within 1,000 feet from schools; operating near sensitive uses, and constant activity around dispensaries at all hours.
The original 2007 moratorium was easily passed and is likely to be approved today.
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Sounds like there are some pretty irresponsible dispensary operators out there.
I'm very disappointed in the lawmakers as well. They've has 12+ years to come up with rules, regulations, or at least some guidelines for these dispensaries and have done little to nothing.
This was even written into the text of Prop 215...
(C) To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.
That most lawmakers have acted like if they do nothing this will all go away, is political cowardice on a grand scale.
Good point, jrb. But that doesn't include local governments--just federal and state--so they really haven't had 12+ years to come up with it. I mean, they could have done it anyway, but nothing in that text you copied says they had to.
I'm not sure what the state has done, but i can guess the feds haven't and won't :)
No the text in 215 doesn't specifically say "local" but it's only logical to expect the issue would come down to being a local issue.
I'm sure there are a lot of people who voted for 215 who would get totally NIMBY if a dispensary opened up close to where they live, or near a school their kids attend.
These things could have, and should have been dealt with a long time ago.
True that. But it also could have been one of those things that no one expected to proliferate like this. It feels like there was a surge and a bunch of them popped up overnight. I live within a five minute walk of one, but it's pretty damn discreet. I also walked into one once thinkng it was a yoga place, ooops! That's how good these are at blending in if they want.
"It feels like there was a surge and a bunch of them popped up overnight."
Yea, and that was before the new US Atty. Gen. told the DEA to lay off. Imagine what it's going to be like now. They should have guidlines, policies, permits, licensing, sales tax, and all of that in place. And I don't see that happening even now.
Exactly, that's what they in theory are working on and why they keep on extending this ICO. We'll see what happens.
Speaking of NIMBYists, there's one right across the street from the K-Mart/HD lot in Sunland; real close to where I went to elementary and middle school, which has no signage at all, but just bars. I just stopped by to say hi and the security guy handed me a card for a doctor reeferral.