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Video: Investigating LA's Marijuana Dispensary Explosion
If you've got 11 minutes this lunch hour, this investigative report on city hall politics and marijuana dispensaries is excellent.
"Almost every city has gotten its act together and put regulations in place for marijuana dispensaries except Los Angeles," said Paul Lerner, a Melrose area neighborhood activist who voted for Prop 215, but doesn't like the proliferation of dispensaries on every street corner. "In Los Angeles we have the highest paid city council members in the country. What are they doing? Why can't they get their act together and put some basic reasonable sound regulations in place?"
And that's the overriding theme. In San Francisco, it's $8,400 a year to have a marijuana dispensary permit. In Los Angeles, it's zero. And besides that, if you open one up illegally, there's little to none enforcement.
"I understand the viewpoint that these places aren't licensed by the city, but at the same time, can you blame them? The city's not shutting them down" questioned dispensary owner Daniel Sosa.
Below, retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray lays down his logic on why the drug needs to be legalized:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seems willing to be explore...
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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