Results tagged “drugs”

"Supporters of legalized marijuana announced today that they have gathered about 700,000 signatures for their initiative, virtually guaranteeing voters will see it on the November ballot," says the LA Times. And when and if it wins, will it be a boon for tourism? more ›

In a 9-3 vote, the Los Angeles City Council this morning approved the long-fought-over medical marijuana ordinance, despite protests from members of the public on both sides. During public comment, advocates for medical marijuana threatened to bring lawsuits while advocates for limiting the facilities questioned how the city would afford enforcement. more ›

At its 10 a.m. meeting, the Los Angles City Council is scheduled to put the medical marijuana issue to rest. The new ordinance, which regulates dispensaries on a variety of issues such as location, hours of operation and security, must be considered two times and today is that second time. Although the over two-year debate is coming to an end, some advocates of access have threatened to bring lawsuits to the city, citing how the new code contradicts state law. more ›

In an 11-3 vote, the Los Angeles City Council today approved the first reading of a proposed Medical Marijuana ordinance that would regulate dispensaries through a set of various municipal codes. Today's vote finalized one of the remaining debated issues: how close should a facility be to sensitive uses such as schools and churches and how close to residential homes. more ›

Over two years in the making, Los Angeles is still without an ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. Today, the City Council is slated to discuss and possibly vote on the plan. The current question for members is if dispensaries should be 500 or 1,000 feet from one another and other types of places like schools, parks, libraries, churches, childcare facilities and youth centers, reported the LA Times. At a meeting in Dcember, the Council requested an analysis to determine the effects of such a restriction on the 137 dispensaries deemed legal by the council last month. According to that document (.pdf), several communities like Venice and Silver Lake would have no collectives if restrictions were approved. more ›

Investigation notes and a list of prescription drugs allegedly used by Brittany Murphy and now being speculated as to why the actor suffered a cardiac arrest was leaked to TMZ, angering Los Angeles County Coroner officials. more ›

The proposition to legalize marijuana for recreational use has not officially been placed on the 2010 ballot, but experts from both sides are already weighing in. more ›

Now this really shows the true intent of medical marijuana in California. As of February last year, the city of Laguna Woods was the only one in Orange County to allow dispensaries, a law voted on in late 2008. Back then, the LA Times reported that seniors were still awaiting a willing landlord to house the collective, one of the requirements on Laguna Woods' ordinance. Well, it looks like they found one and, according to ABC7, it remains the only one within city limits. Welcome to Leisure World. more ›

That's what journalist Charles Feldman is saying the Huffington Post. After going undercover for a documentary on how easy it is to obtain approval from a doctor, he feels that city and county officials have misplaced focus. more ›

The effort to legalize marijuana for recreational use has collected enough signatures to be placed on the 2010 ballot, organizers behind the initiative tell the Los Angeles Times. The prop, put forth by Richard Lee, is just one of four attempted initiatives to be put on the ballot. more ›

A lot of media reports about the medical marijuana dispensary issue report the number of facilities within Los Angeles to be around, give or take, one thousand. After an thorough investigation, though, the LA Weekly found that's not the case. more ›

Concerned with a proposal to restrict medical marijuana dispensaries within 1,000 feet of residential areas, the Los Angeles City Council today postponed voting the ordinance into law until next week Wednesday when they can examine maps of current legal facilities in relation to neighborhoods. That means issues revolving around collectives will likely be fully resolved in 2010. Yesterday, the group did finalize one aspect of the matter: the number that could legally operate within the city. more ›

A new medical marijuana ordinance is not fully completed, but the Los Angeles City Council today did finalize at least one aspect of the new law: to limit the number of dispensaries or not, and if so, to how many. The cap is 70, but locations legally registered before a 2007 moratorium will be able to stay open, as long as they comply with location restrictions in the ordinance. It appears 137 will be eligible to stay open. more ›

Today in their regular meeting the LA City Council "will consider provisions to a proposed medical marijuana ordinance they have struggled with for two years," according to CBS2. In a vote postponed from last week, the Council will discuss how to handle the city's many dispensaries. "Among the possibilities are capping the number of dispensaries and creating a tax that could help boost the city's depleted coffers." more ›

No surprise here, but a vote on the proposed of Los Angeles' medical marijuana ordinance was delayed until next week. There was much discussion at this morning's meeting about how sales is being interpreted within the state law in addition to several proposed changes that must be reviewed by the city attorney's office. more ›

The people of Los Angeles and L.A. County have elected themselves a hot mess. District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich--both elected by the public--believe most all medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal. That's because their interpretation of state law is that marijuana cannot be just sold to those with licenses, but distributed to members of a nonprofit collective of people who carry licenses. more ›

A proposed medical marijuana ordinance for Los Angeles has failed to garner a majority of votes. Today, two committees rejected the fifth proposal submitted in a year and a half time, this one drafted by the recently-elected City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. Proponents of medical marijuana threatened to sue if this draft went through and the majority of councilmembers agreed that it was too prohibitive. The full council could still take up the issue as early as Wednesday, says the LA Times. Around 1,000 dispensaries are within Los Angeles city limits. more ›

The fifth draft of Los Angeles' proposed medical marijuana ordinance (the first draft was submitted in April of 2008) will be discussed at a joint city council meeting this morning at 8:30 a.m. Since 4th draft, which we saw in late October, was released, some changes have been made. Most notably, the City Attorney's office "deleted the unnecessary requirement that collective members provide their names to the City as part of the registration process," says a letter to the City Council. "Their names will continue to be maintained in the collective's own books and records." more ›

As Los Angeles prepares to dive into their own pot law, Long Beach is already taking it head on. Last night they voted to make some changes to a proposed medical marijuana ordinance, loosening some restrictions, before finalizing the law. "The changes included, among others, allowing collectives in mixed-use areas; removing prohibitions against having collectives within 1,000 feet of libraries and parks; improving patient privacy issues so as to not identify every member of a collective; giving a grace period for existing collectives to comply once the law goes into effect; and allowing collective patients to grow marijuana in their homes," reports the Press Telegram. more ›

Remember that draft ordinance submitted to City Council last month (read a copy of it here and scroll down)? Well, it's finally going to a city council committee where it will be vetted, questioned, possibly changed and more next Monday, according to the Daily News. Once and if passed out of committee, it will move to the full city council for a vote. more ›

As Los Angeles fumbles around with the latest proposed medical marijuana ordinance, the Long Beach City Council is set to examine its own tomorrow. If passed, the law would limit where dispensaries may be located, hours of operation, how it can be distributed and records of every member, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram. more ›

The road to legalizing marijuana for all in California takes another step tomorrow. The California Assembly Public Safety Committee tomorrow will hold an informational hearing "on the implications of taxing and regulating marijuana similarly to alcoholic beverages," according to a press release from Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), chair of the committee and author of the legislation. more ›

A superior court judge today told Los Angeles city officials in a preliminary injunction that they were the ones breaking the law, not a medical marijuana dispensary that was told it could not operate under a 2007 moratorium--since extended twice--banning new medical marijuana facilities. more ›

In a major switch from the Bush Administration, Attorney General Eric Holder in a memo today told agencies in 14 states to stop prioritizing raids and cases against those who comply with state medical marijuana laws. It's not a good use of time, the three-page legal memo said, urging that criminals should be the focus of any efforts. more ›

Of all that smoke that clouded the Los Angeles region during the Station Fire, some was of the whacky variety. Sheriff's deputies had identified three marijuana cultivation sites just before the fire began last month and they're sure more sites, unbeknownst to them, went aflame as well. more ›

When Orange County's independent TV station KDOC dumped Cannabis Planet, it wasn't too hard for executive producer Brad Lane to find a willing provider. As of August 13th, the half-hour show has been airing twice weekly on another local indie station, KJLA, which reaches around five million SoCal households, according to the New York Times in a profile of the show. more ›

It's safe to say that weed shops are more common than Pinkberry and Starbucks. Thanks to the LA Times, we know that there's about five "collectives" within a five-minute walk of us (how about you?). And look, the people in the Valley can't complain that their not getting their fair share. In fact, one neighborhood prosecutor told the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council earlier this summer that the LAPD's Van Nuys Division had the most dispensaries than any other in the city. Here are some other interesting facts, via the Times: more ›

Possibly adding fuel to the city's grease fire to get rid of illegal street vendors, a Center for Disease Control report released today tells of an April incident in which pot brownies bought from a bogus church fundraiser ended up in a preschool teacher's lounge sickening several teachers. more ›

Although it was all but official until now, today the Los Angeles County coroner's office "confirmed that it has ruled Michael Jackson's death to be a homicide, caused primarily by 'propofol intoxication,'" reports KNX1070 in a breaking news e-mail alert. The LAPD, the lead agency into the death, also announced this morning that separate investigations will occur into matters uncovered in the death investigation, but do not directly relate to the cause of Jackson's death. Those most likely are the various drugs, prescription included, found at his home and in his body. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement will be looking into those aspects. The LAPD's press release is below in full. more ›

Despite what many people think, the police are not always against medical marijuana dispensaries. A legal institution is a legal institution and when said institution happens to have lots of drugs and money inside their business, it's a prime target for robbery. Not many details are out now, but LAPD tomorrow will be asking the press and public's help "to inform the public about medical marijuana dispensary robberies and suspects who are to be considered armed and dangerous," an advisory says. "Police are also asking for the public’s help to identify and locate the suspects." Apparently, some incidents have happened in the West Valley. more ›