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A motion to fill a loophole in Los Angeles' moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries was approved by a City Council committee today. In 2007 when the ban was set, routine ordinance language provided dispensaries a chance to apply for "hardship exemptions," demonstrating why they should not be included in the ban, even if they had not fulfilled basic requirements like showing proof of insurance, a business tax license and other documents. Around 500 applications have been submitted, according to the city's Council File Management System (search "marijuana") and none of have acted upon, but dispensaries continue to open around the city. The moratorium will expire in September. A copy of today's motion, which should move to the full City Council soon, is below:
Loophole in Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban Nearing Closure
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Any ideas why the 110 off/on ramps will be shut down for 1 year starting tomorrow from the hours of
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As long as they operate within the laws what the f*ck business is it of the city council to intervene? How about they put a moratorium on all fast food restaurants in the city. Obesity kills thousands of people each year, I don't think anyone in the history of humanity has died from weed. Get your damn priorities straight city council.
The amount of demand present in society for marijuana will control their numbers. If they're still growing it's because they're still making a profit which means there's still plenty of unfulfilled demand out there.
If you close them down where do you think this demand is going to go? To the street and the Mexican drug cartels?? These brutal gangs murdered more than 6,000 people last year in order to protect their drug smuggling profits. So far this year they've killed 2,632 - that puts them on track to equal last year's horrific record. Do you really want to support this?
Don't you see that the dispensaries are taking business and profits away from the cartels? Have any of you conducted a study yet looking at the impact the dispensaries are having on the cartels' bottom line? When the cartels' cash flow dries up they'll no longer have the incentive or the money to corrupt the government and police forces and commit the brutal murders they're now committing on a daily basis.
The dispensaries protect us from drug dealers. All you have to do is ensure they don't sell to minors. That's something you can't force the drug dealers and cartels to do but it's something you can very easily insist that the dispensaries do. And they're happy to oblige. They card their customers, work out their grievances without violence and keep your constituents from giving their money to the cartels.
Trust the free market system and let the dispensaries meet the demand for marijuana. You do not want to encourage the proliferation of drug dealers and cartel members on our streets!
Jway, I agree with most of your comment, but if the dispensaries are not paying their business license fees and collecting and paying the state sales tax they aren't any better than someone standing on a street corner selling dime bags.
If the MMJ dispensaries want legitamacy they need to follow the rules LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS.
And I'm speaking as someone who has a doctor's recommendation and and buys at MMJ dispensaries.
Agreed, but City Council needs to GET ON THIS!! I mean, we are in a recession and this is probably one of the few industries that's thriving! The city needs to do everything in it's power to expedite this issue and allow the tax revenue to come flowing in...
And then the next step to to legalize it, tax it, and rescue our state parks and public schools.
Agreed. They need to up that fee on billboards too. The fee charged is absurdly small compared to what each billboard rakes in in ad revenues.