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Showing posts with label la. Show all posts
Showing posts with label la. Show all posts
Thursday, March 8, 2012
VIDEO: Mike Oliveri Gets the Final Word at a LA City Council Meeting
Due to transportation difficulties, Mike Oliveri (patient activist) arrives at the Los Angeles Council Meeting right at the tail end of Public Comment. Nevertheless he still manages to get in and on record, the case for medical marijuana collectives.
Monday, November 22, 2010
NEWS: Supervisors to vote on banning pot dispensaries in unincorporated areas
In an effort to slow the spread of medical marijuana dispensaries, the Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday whether to ban the facilities in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County.
The vote comes as Los Angeles and smaller cities throughout the region are working to limit the dispensaries' growth, raising concerns they may move into the unincorporated parts of the county where 1.5 million people live, said Paul Novak, planning deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
"Supervisor Antonovich is concerned about the impact of these facilities on the surrounding neighborhoods," Novak said. "You have nuisance issues, crime issues and people under the influence of marijuana driving through local communities." In other words, Not In My Back Yard.
But Kris Hermes, spokesman for the Oakland-based pro-medical marijuana group Americans for Safe Access, said the county hasn't experienced problems with the dispensaries and already has a 2006 ordinance in place that regulates and requires them to obtain conditional use permits.
"We as an organization have for years opposed outright bans on medical marijuana dispensaries and have gone to court on numerous occasions, the latest of which is a case stemming from a ban in Anaheim," Hermes said. "We have folks working on this in the Los Angeles area and they are mobilizing patients to express to the Board of Supervisors that a ban is not appropriate."
In 2006, the supervisors adopted land use regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries to distribute marijuana for medical purposes to qualified patients with a doctor's authorization.
Since then, more than 100 cities and nine counties in California have banned the dispensaries amid concerns about crime and other problems. Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and most other South Bay cities have either enacted bans on dispensaries or placed moratoriums on them.
In July, the supervisors directed the Chief Executive Office to work with the Department of Regional Planning to draft an amendment to the 2006 ordinance banning the dispensaries in unincorporated parts of the county. In September, the Regional Planning Commission held a public hearing on the amendment and voted to recommend approval of the change to the supervisors.
Although no dispensaries are currently operating in unincorporated parts of the county with a conditional-use permit, some are operating in violation of the county ordinance, said Karen Simmons, a supervising regional planner with the Department of Regional Planning.
"We have a zone enforcement task force that is currently looking into those and closing them up," Simmons said.
In 2007, regional planning commissioners turned down a permit application that would have allowed a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated Del Aire, at Aviation Boulevard and 118th Place near Los Angeles International Airport.
Source: Contra Costa Times
The vote comes as Los Angeles and smaller cities throughout the region are working to limit the dispensaries' growth, raising concerns they may move into the unincorporated parts of the county where 1.5 million people live, said Paul Novak, planning deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
"Supervisor Antonovich is concerned about the impact of these facilities on the surrounding neighborhoods," Novak said. "You have nuisance issues, crime issues and people under the influence of marijuana driving through local communities." In other words, Not In My Back Yard.
But Kris Hermes, spokesman for the Oakland-based pro-medical marijuana group Americans for Safe Access, said the county hasn't experienced problems with the dispensaries and already has a 2006 ordinance in place that regulates and requires them to obtain conditional use permits.
"We as an organization have for years opposed outright bans on medical marijuana dispensaries and have gone to court on numerous occasions, the latest of which is a case stemming from a ban in Anaheim," Hermes said. "We have folks working on this in the Los Angeles area and they are mobilizing patients to express to the Board of Supervisors that a ban is not appropriate."
In 2006, the supervisors adopted land use regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries to distribute marijuana for medical purposes to qualified patients with a doctor's authorization.
Since then, more than 100 cities and nine counties in California have banned the dispensaries amid concerns about crime and other problems. Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and most other South Bay cities have either enacted bans on dispensaries or placed moratoriums on them.
In July, the supervisors directed the Chief Executive Office to work with the Department of Regional Planning to draft an amendment to the 2006 ordinance banning the dispensaries in unincorporated parts of the county. In September, the Regional Planning Commission held a public hearing on the amendment and voted to recommend approval of the change to the supervisors.
Although no dispensaries are currently operating in unincorporated parts of the county with a conditional-use permit, some are operating in violation of the county ordinance, said Karen Simmons, a supervising regional planner with the Department of Regional Planning.
"We have a zone enforcement task force that is currently looking into those and closing them up," Simmons said.
In 2007, regional planning commissioners turned down a permit application that would have allowed a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated Del Aire, at Aviation Boulevard and 118th Place near Los Angeles International Airport.
Source: Contra Costa Times
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
VIDEO: Los Angeles Considers Taxing Medical Marijuana at Council Meeting [11-16-2010]
Los Angeles City Council Meeting November 16, 2010
Agenda Item #14
COMMUNICATION FROM CITY ATTORNEY, RESOLUTIONS and ORDINANCE FIRST CONSIDERATION relative to submitting to the voters a certain tax measure to impose a tax on medical marijuana collectives in Los Angeles and calling a Special Election and consolidating it with the City's Primary Nominating Election to be held on March 8, 2011.
Recommendations for Council action:
1. ADOPT the accompanying RESOLUTION providing that a certain proposal to amend the Charter of the City of Los Angeles be submitted to the qualified electors of the City.
2. ADOPT the accompanying BALLOT TITLE RESOLUTION, as follows:
TAXATION OF MEDICAL MARIJAUANA COLLECTIVES. PROPOSITION ___
In order to fund general municipal services, including but not limited to such matters as police protection and crime suppression services, fire prevention and suppression services, park and recreation facilities, and general improvements throughout the City, shall a tax be authorized on marijuana collectives of $50 per $1,000 of gross receipts recognizing that the sale of marijuana is illegal?
3. PRESENT and ADOPT the accompanying ORDINANCE, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR, calling a Special Election to be held on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the City of Los Angeles a certain Charter amendment and consolidating this Special Election with the City's Primary Nominating Election to be held on the same date.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
NEWS: L.A. County Deputies Branch Out in Fight Against Pot Shops
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies Wednesday seized marijuana from a Palm Springs outlet, as part of a four-county crack down on an organization accused of selling the drug for profit.
Deputies seized several products at Holistic Collective of Palm Springs at 2235 N. Palm Canyon Drive, starting about 11 a.m., sheriff's Capt. Ralph Ornelas of the Narcotics Bureau said.
"This organization is running it outside legal ramifications of what the law is meant to be with medical marijuana," he said.
Deputies with the Sheriff's Marijuana Dispensary Task Force raided collectives simultaneously in Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, Ornelas said.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office assisted with the operation, but no arrests were made at the Palm Springs shop, Ornelas said.
Proposition 19, which on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, would essentially legalize the sale of pot to anyone 21 or older and provide for its taxation, but Ornelas said that was not a consideration.
"I didn't take that into account. This investigation has been going on for some time. I'm not worried about politics. We're worried about doing the right thing," he said.
Source: NBC LA
Deputies seized several products at Holistic Collective of Palm Springs at 2235 N. Palm Canyon Drive, starting about 11 a.m., sheriff's Capt. Ralph Ornelas of the Narcotics Bureau said.
"This organization is running it outside legal ramifications of what the law is meant to be with medical marijuana," he said.
Deputies with the Sheriff's Marijuana Dispensary Task Force raided collectives simultaneously in Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, Ornelas said.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office assisted with the operation, but no arrests were made at the Palm Springs shop, Ornelas said.
Proposition 19, which on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, would essentially legalize the sale of pot to anyone 21 or older and provide for its taxation, but Ornelas said that was not a consideration.
"I didn't take that into account. This investigation has been going on for some time. I'm not worried about politics. We're worried about doing the right thing," he said.
Source: NBC LA
Saturday, August 28, 2010
NEWS: L.A. strictly interprets restriction on pot dispensaries
When the Los Angeles City Council adopted its medical marijuana ordinance, it aimed to rout unscrupulous dispensary operators whose unruly customers irritated residents and operators who opened up willy-nilly across the city, ignoring a ban on new stores.
But the ordinance has snared operators who appear to have tried hard to adhere to state law and the city's rules. Among them are some of the most politically active operators whose dispensaries are considered model operations. Last week, the city sued these dispensaries and dozens of others and asked a judge to rule that they could be shut down.
The ordinance, which went into effect in June, allowed dispensaries that registered with the city by Nov. 13, 2007, to apply to stay open, but it required them to have "the same ownership and management." The city attorney's office has decided that means the owners and managers must be the same people who held those positions three years ago.
When Barry Kramer opened California Patients Alliance in April 2007, he ran it alone. "I was the manager. I was the operator. I was the secretary. I was everything," he said. Now, with about 1,500 members, the Beverly Grove dispensary has added two managers. "I can't be here seven days a week," Kramer said. "I don't see any legal basis for saying a business is not allowed to expand."
Under the city's interpretation of the ordinance, if a dispensary's manager died, quit or was fired and was then replaced, it must close. If the business grew and added managers, it must close. If it shrank and let managers go, it must close. If it was sold to new owners, it must close.
"It makes it completely irrational. This is life. Things happen," said David Welch, a lawyer who represents more than 60 dispensaries. "It almost puts an impossible burden on collectives."
Stewart Richlin, another attorney for dispensaries, noted that the city did not tell registered dispensaries in 2007 that they could not change owners or managers, and he pointed to a 2009 planning department memo that says the city "does not prohibit ownership changes."
"This is America," he said. "Every business can be transferred."
The city attorney's office said it must interpret the ordinance strictly, saying any discretion would expose the ordinance to legal attacks. "We are constantly thinking of the greater good, which is an enforceable ordinance," said Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney who helped draft the law and is defending it against 32 lawsuits filed by dispensaries that were ordered to shut down.
Usher said the language that the City Council adopted is unambiguous: no change in ownership, no change in management. "There was a very clear road map," she said, "and I don't know why dispensaries didn't follow it, but I assume they didn't follow it because they couldn't."
David and Irina Vayntrub learned last week that their dispensary, Absolute Herbal Pain Solutions, was ineligible to stay open.
"I was shocked," said David Vayntrub, holding up a point-by-point summary of the ordinance that his wife had typed up and that he keeps on his desk. "This is in front of me every day."
The Vayntrubs think the city disqualified their dispensary because Irina, who they said has been involved since the store opened in January 2007, is now the secretary of the board. Under the city attorney's interpretation, that might be a management change. They are not certain, though; they said city officials did not respond to the five voice messages they left last week.
"I'm still here. Same manager. Same owner," said David Vayntrub, who said he works at the store on South La Brea Avenue every day. "We truly tried to follow this ordinance."
The city clerk last week notified 128 of the 169 registered dispensaries that they were ineligible to remain open. The city filed a lawsuit against the ineligible dispensaries, but they will be allowed to operate until a judge considers the suit.
According to the suit, 120 were ineligible because of management changes. Of those, 58 were disqualified solely on that basis; the others also had ownership changes and other issues.
The clerk's office is trying to figure out how to respond to distraught dispensary operators. "I'm trying to iron that out now," Holly Wolcott, its executive officer, said last week.
Councilman Ed Reyes, who oversaw the drafting of the ordinance, said the city needed to "stick with the letter of the law" but promised to assess the effect on dispensaries.
Some disqualified operators will be familiar to Reyes because they have been active at City Hall for years. All of them are original operators and were excluded for management changes.
Besides Kramer, they include Yamileth Bolanos, who runs PureLife Alternative Wellness Center and heads a group of about 60 original dispensaries; Michael Backes with Cornerstone Research Collective, which focuses on severely ill patients; James Shaw with Arts District Healing Center, who runs the Union of Medical Marijuana Patients; and Bill Leahy, who manages the Farmacy stores, which were started by a pharmacist, JoAnna LaForce.
"I can't tell you how surprised we all were," said Leahy, adding that the city is targeting registered dispensaries when it has failed to shut down numerous unauthorized outlets. "Most of them have reopened again and the city's done very little about it."
Some ineligible dispensaries appear to be victims of a Catch-22 or two.
Almost a year after dispensaries were required to register in Los Angeles, the state attorney general advised that they needed to be run as nonprofit collectives. Many were not. So they reorganized as nonprofit corporations, a change that replaced an owner with a board of directors. Under the city attorney's interpretation of the ordinance, that may have disqualified them.
This summer, when the city started to determine whether the registered dispensaries were qualified to remain open, it sent them a letter asking for "the name(s) of the collective's management." Because the ordinance defines managers as anyone responsible for "organization, registration, supervision, or oversight," some dispensaries included names of employees that were not on their original registration forms, which may have disqualified them.
More than a few wonder whether it was a trap. "We all knew they were looking for some slimy little technicality, and this seems to be it," Kramer said.
Chris Fusco, a consultant who knows the ins and outs of City Hall, said that when he inquired about the letter, he was told by officials at the clerk's office that an exact match was required. But others, including the Vayntrubs, said they were not.
"The administration of the application process is just like nothing I have ever seen or known or imagined," Fusco said. "It's a black curtain, and what's behind it, no one will tell you."
Source: Los Angeles Times
But the ordinance has snared operators who appear to have tried hard to adhere to state law and the city's rules. Among them are some of the most politically active operators whose dispensaries are considered model operations. Last week, the city sued these dispensaries and dozens of others and asked a judge to rule that they could be shut down.The ordinance, which went into effect in June, allowed dispensaries that registered with the city by Nov. 13, 2007, to apply to stay open, but it required them to have "the same ownership and management." The city attorney's office has decided that means the owners and managers must be the same people who held those positions three years ago.
Under the city's interpretation of the ordinance, if a dispensary's manager died, quit or was fired and was then replaced, it must close. If the business grew and added managers, it must close. If it shrank and let managers go, it must close. If it was sold to new owners, it must close.
"It makes it completely irrational. This is life. Things happen," said David Welch, a lawyer who represents more than 60 dispensaries. "It almost puts an impossible burden on collectives."
Stewart Richlin, another attorney for dispensaries, noted that the city did not tell registered dispensaries in 2007 that they could not change owners or managers, and he pointed to a 2009 planning department memo that says the city "does not prohibit ownership changes."
"This is America," he said. "Every business can be transferred."
The city attorney's office said it must interpret the ordinance strictly, saying any discretion would expose the ordinance to legal attacks. "We are constantly thinking of the greater good, which is an enforceable ordinance," said Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney who helped draft the law and is defending it against 32 lawsuits filed by dispensaries that were ordered to shut down.
Usher said the language that the City Council adopted is unambiguous: no change in ownership, no change in management. "There was a very clear road map," she said, "and I don't know why dispensaries didn't follow it, but I assume they didn't follow it because they couldn't."
David and Irina Vayntrub learned last week that their dispensary, Absolute Herbal Pain Solutions, was ineligible to stay open.
"I was shocked," said David Vayntrub, holding up a point-by-point summary of the ordinance that his wife had typed up and that he keeps on his desk. "This is in front of me every day."
The Vayntrubs think the city disqualified their dispensary because Irina, who they said has been involved since the store opened in January 2007, is now the secretary of the board. Under the city attorney's interpretation, that might be a management change. They are not certain, though; they said city officials did not respond to the five voice messages they left last week.
"I'm still here. Same manager. Same owner," said David Vayntrub, who said he works at the store on South La Brea Avenue every day. "We truly tried to follow this ordinance."
The city clerk last week notified 128 of the 169 registered dispensaries that they were ineligible to remain open. The city filed a lawsuit against the ineligible dispensaries, but they will be allowed to operate until a judge considers the suit.
According to the suit, 120 were ineligible because of management changes. Of those, 58 were disqualified solely on that basis; the others also had ownership changes and other issues.
The clerk's office is trying to figure out how to respond to distraught dispensary operators. "I'm trying to iron that out now," Holly Wolcott, its executive officer, said last week.
Councilman Ed Reyes, who oversaw the drafting of the ordinance, said the city needed to "stick with the letter of the law" but promised to assess the effect on dispensaries.
Some disqualified operators will be familiar to Reyes because they have been active at City Hall for years. All of them are original operators and were excluded for management changes.
Besides Kramer, they include Yamileth Bolanos, who runs PureLife Alternative Wellness Center and heads a group of about 60 original dispensaries; Michael Backes with Cornerstone Research Collective, which focuses on severely ill patients; James Shaw with Arts District Healing Center, who runs the Union of Medical Marijuana Patients; and Bill Leahy, who manages the Farmacy stores, which were started by a pharmacist, JoAnna LaForce.
"I can't tell you how surprised we all were," said Leahy, adding that the city is targeting registered dispensaries when it has failed to shut down numerous unauthorized outlets. "Most of them have reopened again and the city's done very little about it."
Some ineligible dispensaries appear to be victims of a Catch-22 or two.
Almost a year after dispensaries were required to register in Los Angeles, the state attorney general advised that they needed to be run as nonprofit collectives. Many were not. So they reorganized as nonprofit corporations, a change that replaced an owner with a board of directors. Under the city attorney's interpretation of the ordinance, that may have disqualified them.
This summer, when the city started to determine whether the registered dispensaries were qualified to remain open, it sent them a letter asking for "the name(s) of the collective's management." Because the ordinance defines managers as anyone responsible for "organization, registration, supervision, or oversight," some dispensaries included names of employees that were not on their original registration forms, which may have disqualified them.
More than a few wonder whether it was a trap. "We all knew they were looking for some slimy little technicality, and this seems to be it," Kramer said.
Chris Fusco, a consultant who knows the ins and outs of City Hall, said that when he inquired about the letter, he was told by officials at the clerk's office that an exact match was required. But others, including the Vayntrubs, said they were not.
"The administration of the application process is just like nothing I have ever seen or known or imagined," Fusco said. "It's a black curtain, and what's behind it, no one will tell you."
Source: Los Angeles Times
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
IN THE NEWS: Los Angeles City Council to review details of medical marijuana ordinance
DON'T FORGET Today, December 8, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council Meeting Starts at 10:00am! Please show your support by attending if possible. Room 340, City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles 90012 (entrance on Main St side of the building) [map]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles City Council will revisit a proposed medical marijuana ordinance that could shutter many of the dispensaries that have cropped up.
Council members last month hammered out some guidelines for the ordinance that included capping the number of dispensaries between 70 and 200. They plan to review the ordinance again on Tuesday.
The council also opted to allow cash reimbursement at those clinics. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has said he will go after pot dispensaries involved in over-the-counter sales.
Read full story »
Source: Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles City Council will revisit a proposed medical marijuana ordinance that could shutter many of the dispensaries that have cropped up.
Council members last month hammered out some guidelines for the ordinance that included capping the number of dispensaries between 70 and 200. They plan to review the ordinance again on Tuesday.
The council also opted to allow cash reimbursement at those clinics. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has said he will go after pot dispensaries involved in over-the-counter sales.
Read full story »
Source: Los Angeles Times
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