"Joint" committee takes up pot ordinance... again

Has the City Attorney's 5th draft ordinance been posted online yet? I haven't seen it yet. I have read the 4th draft ordinance and fear that it's so restrictive that it will close most, if not all, non-profit store front Medical Cannabis Dispnesing Collectives/Cooperatives. If that happens, I will be foreced to get my medical cannabis illegal. That scares me beyond words. What can the city do to ensure my safe and affordable access to medical cannabis?

You had 11 years to figure out regulations and did little to NOTHING!!

Now there's an emergency to shut down everybody!!!!

This is just typical politics of the right who HATE EVERYBODY that;s not like them!

They lost in court time and time again. Now are just playing new GAMES to shut down ALL medical marijuana dispensaries & arrest ALL users!!

My question is: Why can’t LA take a hard look at a cities medical cannabis dispensary’s ordinances like San Francisco’s that was adopted three years ago. It works! It took our city from 42 to 23 MCD’s that all pay taxes and are inspected by the health dept. at least twice annually.

I've been participating in the Medical cannabis proceedings in LA for about 2 years now and NONE of the collectives are asking to be PRIMARY CAREGIVERS.

The City Attorney's office has been confusing this issue which is just causing more trouble than anything

Mr. Elford; Why are Cities & Counties (over 100 I can think of) allowed to out rite BAN collectives & dispensaries?

If the name Dispensaries is not political correct now...what name should we now use?

Abortion clinics, Drug stores & liquor stores can't be BANNED through land use regulations but We are just BECAUSE they don't like us...Why they allowed to have bands on us?

Aside from safe access to needed medicine for more than 250,000 people Trutanitch wants to:

- throw 1.4 billion dollars of tax revenue a year back into criminal organizations
- close 900 storefronts in the city of Los Angeles
- make more than 5,000 people find another job

There's a reason that Trutanitch will not get on the radio and he sends the british guy to every public appearance. He's a hot headed inarticulate bully.

Mssrs. Reyes & Berger speak at great length and leave the listeners (to quote another eloquent Brit.) "as befogged as before". Why does the City Attorney need a regulation or ordinance to stop illegal activity?!

The Mentch decisions does NOT address the issues of "SALES". It deals with a narrow definations of CAREGIVER.

Mentch did NOT have a "storefront" location. He was growing and providing cannabis out of his HOUSE to a handful of people, some of which that did not have doctor's recommendations.

That case has no bearing on this issue

So Larry, what's to keep places currently "selling" MJ from switching to a "membership fee" and simply dodging that particular impediment? I walk through the door, pay a nominal "membership fee" and walk out with product. Why not?

While LA plans to put all it's effort and money into regulating Marijuana Dispensaries, when will the City put it's efforts back on eliminating the flow of hard drugs(such as crack/cocaine, heroine, meth, ecstacy, etc.) on the streets. We all know how many dispensaries have been shut down, but I cannot recall once where any crack houses were raided.

I am going to have to state that there is NOTHING worse than a man who QUOTES a part of law and says a word is stated and then when it is looked up, TURNS FULL-FRONTAL, and says "oh yeah, that word is not actually there".

WHAT IN THE HECK SORT OF LIE, LIE, LIAR IS ON THIS SEGMENT TODAY, saying "sale" is in the exact statute and it's not!!

While I would like to see medical use continue and even legal use by the public (by law), just look what lies did to the likes of the rogue mutt Palin!!

Lol: The moment that we all switch to membership fees instead of what is now deemed by the state as taxable sale “out the door goes the TAXES the city and state gets”… They don’t want that.

How does Berges know most of of the cannabis sold for recreation?

And I have a serious life-altering medical condition and medical cannabis helps me and I DO NOT HAVE ACCESS to with without our collectives.

I can't grow it myself, I don't have the skills, I don't have the time, it would be too painful, I don't have the space for it.

I would like to hear the city attorney representative address his offices' proposal to ban edible marijuana. My grandfather used marijuana to survive chemo therapy (he had dropped to 95 lbs). There is no way he could have smoked it. Because he was able to get very small edible marijuana items he survived his chemo. He is still alive today because of it. Please show some compassion! The voters have already spoken.

The guy with the English accent (who should just go home) states that much of the marijuana is being sold for recreation-he says this with the disdain of a parent who has caught a child at doing something wrong. Why not breach the subject: what's wrong with recreational marijuana use? REALLY? A bottle of Scotch is pure poison and its legal.

Can you stop beating this dead horse? I think there are more serious damages being perpetrated by other meds such as antidepressants, sleep aids, sham fda drugs. These dispensaries are gnats compared to the much bigger issues of health and safety in our area. More stories from the hamburger universe.

Maybe I'm naive, but...

If medical marijuana is for medical use only, and is prescribed only by licensed medical professionals (is this true?), why is it not treated like any other controlled pharmaceutical product and dispensed at a pharmacy? You can't go buy Vicodin at a "dispensary" - that would be a "pusher". Am I crazy?

The City Attorney wants to ERADACATE medical cannabis "distribution" from storefront locations.

They will allow Collective cultivation but how does the collective distribute the cannabis to patients?

I can NOT grow my own marijuana!

Control over how Medical Marijuana is grown is most important to me. I have been teaching hundreds of thousands of people to grow their own medical marijuana for over a decade. TheGrowReport.com

YES it's hard to grow quality Medical Marijuana and NOT everybody can. Most landlords will NOT allow growing Marijuana period. So the only option those people have is to BUY (spend money to support the collective) or BUY on the black market street dealer.

So at some point money does change hands. Does that make it illegal?

Are collectives required to gift all Marijuana to those who can't grow?

That's ridiculous....At some point money does change hands, even under the collective or grow-opt model.

You MUST recover the cost for growing unless the Government will do the growing and distribution.

NOT EVERYBODY CAN GROW QUALITY MEDICAL MARIJUANA...PERIOD!!!!!!!

NOT EVERYBODY SHOULD BE FORCED TO GROW MEDICAL MARIJUANA...THIS IS TYPICAL POLITICS FROM THE RIGHT!!!

Growing marijuana WELL is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. It would be easier to grow it in larger quantaties.

Why is the City demanding that these collectives be non-profit when pharmaceuticals are not required to be non-profit? The City opened this Pandora's Box, they should be blamed for allowing it to happen, and the door on this issue will never close again. They allowed this debacle and they are now going to need to go behind closed doors, and ultimately break the law to fix their debacle.

It is too bad the state and the fedreal government won't just decriminalize it and find a way of making it available in a regulated, safe, way. But let's look at the big picture here: Our society hasn't crumbled because marijuana is being sold on the streets. Thank you Los Angeles for being the pioneer in showing the world that allowing the sale of marijuana will not cause harm to the society. We can generate a billion dollars in taxes with sales, and crime is down. The reasons that have kept the decriminalization from being realized are being shown to be untrue, one at a time.

How come no female voices were heard? How come all the comments read came from men?

The only people who are advocating sales are people who benefit from sales, the sellers. Unfortunately in LA that means a lot of gangs and organized crime.

I sense a fair amount of BS on both sides here.

1) DA's argument that only sick people can grow their own seems ridiculous:
how long does it take from diagnosis or actually, onset of pain, to grow a plant to maturity? I would guess months. If pain is debilitating, that would be an unlikely couple of months for a sick person. Argument falls apart on own lack of merit.

2) Many people live in apartments and have no access to an agricultural plot. Could make for some interesting communal gardens.

3) I expect that insect control (and use of pesticides) is much more of a problem within city limits than in areas with little agriculture (eg forests). If you have grown house plants (of the boring variety) in LA, you know population explosions of little nasties is very commonplace.

3) I doubt most of those dispensaries give a dang about sick people, and suspect that they are indeed in it for profit. But that's rather hard to prove. Residues of applied poisons is serious, just as in supermarket produce, which is why it makes sense to legalize and regulate pot.

The special city attorney speaks with an authoritative tone about marijuana but what he actually says about the growth and cultivation of marijuana shows gross misunderstanding about the subject.

He is very clear about wanting to close marijuana dispensaries that operate outside of the law but he is also clear that he is not going to help patients because his understanding is so deeply flawed?

BIG GREEN ELEPHANT: It IS about legalizing marijuana. Gerber & Trutanich are misguided, ignorant drug warriors. Sure, take out the bad players, the gangsters & Mexican mafia, but it's time to legalize. Gerber's point that anyone in compliance can grow their own cannabis is outrageous! What if you rent an apt & the landlord will not approve, this is why some need the "collective" model. This is a free market issue, & some are clearly communistic in their approach. The people have spoken & there's an obvious large number of "users". There's nothing to fear but the fear mongers.

Will the show be rebroadcast for those of us who missed it?

@Michael,

I've been advocating for Non-profit storefront Medical Cannabis Dispensing Collectives ("Sale") and I do NOT benefit from the cash transactions. I'm just a patient/activist. I do not work at these locations, I don't grow cannabis.

I have a medical need for cannabis and these storefront locations allow for safe affordable access to medical cannabis.

CA Native: You will be able to stream or download the audio from this portion of the broadcast later this afternoon.

Yeah, Herbalicious, interesting about the gender slant. I may be the only female commenting here. I'm also pretty sure I'm the only commenter who doesn't smoke pot, medicinally or otherwise. Apropos of nothing, I think it should just be legalized and treated like alcohol or tobacco. My $.02.

Does the City Attorney think that anyone who needs other prescribed medications should just manufacture it themselves like he is suggesting for cannabis?

Is he proposing to shut down all pharmacies because, gasp, they make a profit?

Is he going to regulate pharmaceutical prices which have shot beyond gouging to ensure their profits are 'reasonable'?

It's a preposterous premise.

All scary hat and no saddle.

Is the City Attorney against capitalism?

Micheal,

No, the organized crime is what is being sold on the streets.

Dispensaries that pay state and local taxes, get city licenses to operate, etc. are not criminal but law abiding citizens.

We're talking about the creation of jobs in a work force that has zero options. In a state with no jobs, it's amazing the lengths people want to go to to shut down 900-1000 business that want to operate in Los Angeles.

Want to solve our city's fiscal crisis, pay for schools, police, fire dept. etc?

Stop calling patients criminals; if they pay taxes they are therefore good, hardworking Americans that are bring sorely needed jobs, new industrial base to our state.

Marijuana is de facto California's #1 cash crop and it's about time Californian's got behind this home grown industry, to use a pun.

All dispensaries should be given the chance to follow as yet a non-existent ordinance rather than letting the city pass a draconian ordinance meant to forever shut down all dispensaries and never let any collectives as Trutanich insists be the case. We should have both options because most patients can't grow their own medicine now or when a collective ordinance is passed.

I'm also concerned about the proposal to ban all edibles. My 83 year old father had cancer last year and was wasting away due to the chemotherapy treatments. He could not smoke his medicine so he wanted to try eating it. Unfortunately, he had no appetite whatsoever, so the thought of eating a brownie, cookie or rice krispie treat made him feel even sicker. We came up with recipes for hummus instead, which contains no sugar, dairy, or animal products as an alternative to patients who may be suffering from lack of appetite, diabetes, are vegans, etc. Not all edibles are sweet-based, or look like candy. And, no, patients shouldn't be expected to make their own edibles either.

If someone is given a liver cancer diagnosis they will either have completed their chemotherapy regimen or died before they can get their first crop harvested.

Meanwhile a recreational user, with their $150 or so medical card, can buy a home growing kit and grow to their (and their friends) hearts content.

Banning over-the-counter sales will prevent the people who need marijuana the most from getting it.

I am confused by the 'difficulty in growing marajuanna' argument.
A friend of mine lives in an apartment. He has a prescription for medical marijuana. He made me a primary care giver and gave me 12 seeds. Four months later, I handed him 10 pounds of marijuana that works to elevate his pain. It took four months, it cost me a strip of land and some water. It was the easiest thing I have grown.

Lets get sensible. Make it legal to grow and those who distroy the forest have no reason to do so. Patients can grow it or have friends do it for them. The only expense would be quality seeds.

Lets stop the lies, misinformation, demonizing the sick and their helpers, and spending tax money on a loosing cause... when will we learn the lessons of 100 years ago... prohibition does not work.

Considering the City of LA has over 3000 backlogged test kits of uninvestigated rape cases they can't get to because of a lack of resources, how can they justify spending the resources to shut down nearly 1000 dispensaries that are in the current state they are in because the City has dragged their feet on regulating them in the first place?!?!

Prohibition supports organized crime, we learned that in the 30s. Why has our City Attorney so soon forgotten and why can't they see that what they are proposing only aids the cartels and gangs they are claiming to want to stop.

They can't even keep drugs out of prisons, how are they ever going to get them off our streets?

Our current policy is a dismal failure!

Regulation is the only way to end this insanity.

What BOGGLES THE MIND is the utter lack discussion on just WHY marijuana is illegal in the first place. I would think that as we try and figure out what direction to take on this issue, we would try and understand just what it is we're dealing with. Hell, our forefathers even put laws on the books MANDATING the growth of hemp. So what, then, made hemp this evil plant to be placed in the same category as heroin?!?

Good point Gregg. Your friend was lucky, of course, to have you.

By my understanding of the DA's guest speakers position is that what you did is illegal, despite the fact that you were a primary care giver, though probably not a target.

I waited 40 minutes to speak on the radio on this issue, but rudely not allowed to speak.

My name is Rudy Reyes, I ran for 08 county supervisor in San Diego. We in the city had the same issue as l.a. but realized that "moritoriums" only make the situation worse. So we decided to create a marijuana task force, to regulate mmj collectives and cooperatives. This task force composed of patients, community, and law enforcement. They hashed out some very agreeable regulations on mmj collectives.
The l.a. city attorney burgrr was wrong on a few major issues; sales, non-profit status, and medicine quality, not to count a "un-american" prejudice against mmj.

Nowhere in prop. 215 nor s.b.420 does it mention "sales" but it does allow for "compensation" of time, costs and efforts.

Non-profit status is given by the state in letters of incorporation, the I.r.s. oversees them. This is not the job of city attorney, irs will/can get anyone!

Quality of medicine is the reason for collectives and cooperatives. A patient nor caregiver, have the knowledge to maintain a proper grow operation. If outdoors the plant is grown with less complications, but indoor growing is complicated. Regularly a person doesn't have room or knowledge for self sustained medication.

The city attorney seemed to hold a prejudice and imperialistic attitude towards medical marijuana. He used sloppy slippery slope arguments to attack Mr elford. The main reason we made a community task force in San Diego, was to avoid personal prejudices like those shown by l.a. city attorney; to make choices for the people of the area.

To Eric Beck's point of why it's illegal: it began as a racist tool for cops & prosecutors to "weed" out undesirables, i.e. blacks, Hispanics, jazz & rock musicians, radicals. Drug Warrior Mantra: Demonize the user, invent reality thru scare tactics, manufacture consent by telling lies over & over again.

The city attorney claim that anyone can grow their own marihuana is fundamentally wrong. A person who is terminally ill and constantly in pain, or someone who is suffering from severe deterioration vision loss is hardly capable of growing their own pot. Furthermore it seems like the city council and the city attorney’s office are trying to gain political leverage by vilifying mm dispensaries and flaunting this non-issue it in public as if it were a real threat to our society.

Thanks to Joe for doing this interview. The entrenched staff at the City Attorney's office is committed to an outdated and inaccurate interpretation of law. Americans for Safe Access is working hard to be sure City Councilmembers understand the issue and how to move forward. Angelenos can help in this effort by attending a special joint committee meeting on Monday, November 16, at 8:30 AM in room 340 at City Hall (200 N. Spring Street at Temple in downtown). Tell the committee members to adopt sensible regulations that protect patient privacy and ensure real access to medicine.

As a female with no growing experience i depend on the dispensaries for my medicine. I don't have a lot of money to help fund a dispensary upfront or grow for myself but i can allocate small portions of my income on my medicine weekly. Therefore i depend on being able to exchange cash for my medicine. If this system is ended, i will be forced to the black market where i will be in danger and I cannot pick the medicine that works best for me. The tax $ generated from these so-called "illegal transactions" are helping our defunct economy. why isn't the state more involved in Trutanich's decision to make his own interpretations on what the state law actually says regarding sales and denying the state tax dollars it so desperately needs? If San Fransisco and Oakland are breaking the law, why isn't the state going after them Mr. Trutanich?

The system works as follows: proponents propose, legislators craft bills, people vote, laws are enacted, challenges brought, courts clarify and LE enforces.

This brings us to our current position. The DA is challenging w/ their interpretation. This is a good thing. They are the legal proponents of the people and their job make life safer for everybody.

The recent disconnect between state, local and federal laws/ordinances (and even local building codes) makes law enforcement's job very difficult. Besides a reliable test for DUI of MM what LE (and frankly everybody) wants is clarity and they are patiently waiting for such.

=====

some points re the Air Talk conversation:

For or non-profit? should not this be an issue for the IRS?

Safe product (insecticides/etc)? The growers/wholesalers/retailers can certify safety using public/private testing much like the FDA inspects any food or drug. The cost will increase, yet we will be safer for it.

To sell for $ or not? Collectives have overhead that must be offset by capital whether that be cash or ownership stake. The economics are no different than for any farming/pharmaceutical business. Forgoing cash sales, I could buy shares in a collective and receive "dividends" and/or i could "pool" my plant allotment and grow via proxy. Either way, to legitimately provide MM capital will be collected.

=====

whats really needed for the LA City Council, is a collective forum where the specific differences of legal interpretation can be heard, recorded and made available for public view. The sooner we remove the emotional arguments currently clouding the real issues, the sooner we can let the system complete its job.

Based upon recently enacted MM laws, it seems the majority will of the people is in favor of MM, however they would like its sale to be regulated, taxed and sold w/ a valid prescription just like any other legal pharmaceutical.
The system will, eventually, conclude the same.

What is crazy to me is the way that City Councilmember Reyes tried to evade the question of why it has taken him so long to pass an ordinance? He's been sitting on this ordinance since April 2008, and he's done NOTHING. Also, he was wrong about the "30 or 40" cases sitting on desks. It was because he had them on his desk to turn down hardship exemptions that caused the problem. Larry, next time you get Reyes on, I hope you will allow that Brit to ask some direct questions like What's the reason why you did NOTHING?

Forget the prescription, it just encourages more quack doctors. Were talking about adult ingestion of cannabis. 215 was just a special pass for the HIV folks in SF & WeHo. Legalize & regulate. As far as clubs being zoned 1000 ft from churches, schools etc, some these untaxed, unregulated religious organizations are far more dangerous to the mind & soul than any strain of cannabis.

Leanne,

Herbalicious = female!

This is insane.
There really is no problem. The City Attorney is creating a problem out of nothing. What few issues there may be can be easily fixed by some reasonable rules and regulations.
There is no need to close any dispensaries.
Let's get one thing very clear: the City Attorney is simply an ahole. Let's call a spade a spade and not mince words.

We need to force this guy out of office. He is not working for the majority of people, he is promoting his own conservative wacko agenda.

Why would a City that is broke in an economy that needs jobs and business want to close down businesses that are not hurting anyone?

Sure, you can always find a few examples where things went wrong, but look at the business overall: There is no problem.

Why on earth would they not follow a plan that works, like some of the northern cities? I guess they just don't want a plan that works, they'd rather play games and defy the people.

This City Attorney has to go and so do all the council members who are in his pocket!

Residents of Los Angeles:

Your comments above are MUCH NEEDED at the meeting on MONDAY 8:30am. Please come, fill out a speaker card, and share your thoughts!! We NEED YOU!

TAKE ACTION TODAY OR LOSE SAFE ACCESS! STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING!

This particular audience would be a great asset in our fight to provide safe access to the people of Los Angeles

On Monday, November 16, the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and the Public Safety Committee will convene a joint meeting to discuss the draft ordinance.

They need to know that citizens of Los Angeles, patients and advocates oppose City Attorney Trutanich’s ordinance. Otherwise, committee members may be bullied into adopting the badly flawed measure.

If you can't make the meeting, Make those calls to your council person today… and ask your friends and loved ones to do the same.

Make plans now to attend the joint committee meeting on Monday:

What: Joint PLUM and Public Safety Committee meeting
When: 8:30 AM * Monday, November 16
Where: Room 340, City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

**when you arrive please ask fill out a speaker card to share 2 minutes of your thoughts**

The MMJ community appreciates your support!

Ed Reyes-Chair (213)-473-7001
councilmember.reyes@lacity.org

Dennis Zine (213)-473-7003
councilmember.zine@lacity.org

Jose Huizar (213)-473-7014
councilmember.huizar@lacity.org

Tony Cardenas (213) -473-7006
councilmember.cardenas@lacity.org

Jan Perry (213)-473-7009
Jan.Perry@lacity.org

Greig Smith (213)-473-7012
councilmember.smith@lacity.org

These pot shops are destroying my community. There are now 15 pot shops near my home and they bring in some very shady types. Most of the people we see going into these shops are young, many just teenagers - they disrespect our neighborhood and throw their trash everywhere. We know street gangs work with some of these places, we see the gangbangers going inside. Why does our communiyt have to suffer so that rich kids can drive over here and buy pot? People keep saying there's no harm in what's going on - those people don't live near pot shops, their children don't go by pot shops on the way to school. There is harm to us.

all these people who want to stop marijuana being freely sold to people who need it should get outa town. i's so sick that marijuana is the only thing that makes me feel better and i cant grow it myself becuae i have a job and a family to support. i need to be able to buy it and i should be able to get it without all this hassle.

I live in a small apartment. As a cancer patient, I CANNOT grow my medicine. I have no skills, space and I have cancer! Why is the city trying to hasten my death by dening me access to my lifesaver?

What was disturibing was the lack of comprehension that sales to quaified patients IS legal.
When the City chooses to "cherry pick" parts of the law to further it's goals. I just want to not suffer. It's a inhuman act to steal the quailty of life from the sick. This isn't Nazi Germany. The city is plain and simple, killing me. Why? Why?

I'm dying and MY city is playing political games. This disgusts me that they would make me suffer for political reasons. Stop the circus and help us!

I've seen less lies and games in a dirty race for political office then this outright attack on the suffering of this cities voting patients. I can't write anymore, I'm in pain and writing this from my bed is difficult.

One last thing: WHY IS MY CITY OFFICIALS TAKING AWAY MY DIGNITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE? WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO MAKE THE CITIZENS YOU REPRESENT SUFFER?

And why are you making up your own versions of the law? The State courts have already allowed for this. Who the hell are you to decide who suffers?

LA City or Berlin 1939? I see no difference.

Mr. Dyson,
Pleeaase....

In order to properly discuss this issue, one must separate 1) the current law from 2) what you want the law to be. In doing so, we will avoid these endless circular arguments.

Under existing federal and California law (i.e., Compassionate Use Act/Proposition 215 and the Medical Marijuana Program Act), the sale of marijuana is not allowed. I challenge anyone to cite any federal or California statutory or case authority that specifically allows for the sale of marijuana. Rather, California law only allows for the collective cultivation and use of marijuana for medical purposes by qualified patients and primary caregivers.

There is no authority whatsoever for the sale of marijuana through any entity, including a 'dispensary," whether for profit or non-profit. Therefore, until the laws are changed, any entity selling or receiving any "donation" for marijuana is violating both federal and California law. A City ordinance cannot override these laws and authorize the sale of marijuana.

If the majority of the citizens want the federal and California laws changed to allow sales (as a taxable revenue), then our elected representatives should have the courage to act or, in the alternative, approve a proposition, so that such sales are allowed. Until that date, let's find a credible way to lawfully, reasonably and compassionately provide safe and reliable supplies to those in serious medical need - without lining the pockets of those who cynically use and exploit the true pain and suffering of these patients.

It's time to honestly debate these issues. My advice - read the law. If you don't like the federal or state laws, work to have them changed.

Ed Reyes makes me sick. He lies every time he opens his mouth. There would be no problem at all if he had done his job in 2007 and started to hear the hardship exemptions. He did nothing until June 2009. Sat on his backside and gave the impression that the City was not going to do anything at all about all the shops opening up. Now he's trying to blame everyone else for his problem. I have no problem with marijuana being given to real patients, but I do have problems with latino gangsters running the business instead of responsible people. Thank you for this mess Reyes, now, do you have what it takes to fix the problem you have created.

Great show Larry. At last the City Attorney has a spokesman who has the facts and the law at his fingertips. It was hysterical listening to Elford trying to claim that 'sales' were allowed, and then the City Attorney says 'I'm looking at the law and I don't see the word "sales" anywhere,' and Elford has to admit that it's not there! It doesn't get much better than this. Great show, thanks.

The British guy sounded really cool and the others sounded like they needed to get high! I grow my own weed, it's really easy - like the British guy said, it's a weed! It grows pretty much anywhere and mine works like a charm every time I want to get a buzz and relax a little. I don't like going to these stores where the people look like criminals and treat me like I'm scum. They also charge way to much for an eighth and their 'free' joints are horrible. The cancer guy who said he can't grow is just making that up; anyone can grow a weed.

My 13 year-old's middle school is about 1,000 feet away from two pot shops. Every day, at around 3pm, there's a bunch of 8th graders hanging around the store smoking. They either go in the store and buy joints for $5 or get adults to go in and get it for them. I support medicinal use, but this is not fair to the the community nor is it fair to the kids.

I support the City's efforts to make Los Angeles safe for school kids by moving these pot shops away and making it illegal for them to sell to kids, The law that I voted for in 1996 never said anything about shops selling pot, so why is it Ed Reyes wants to destroy our youth?

Sick people need to get medicine. They can get traditional medicine from a pharmacy but if they want to use marijuana instead of vicadin, then they either grow their own, or join a collective,

Everyone knows that these dispensaries are a joke. I live in Venice and there's a place with hot chicks outside waving signs saying "The Doctor is in the house, get your medical marijuana here!" You can also see all the adverts on Craigslist. It's a business with big money behind it, probably the mexican mafia who control most of the drugs in this city.

Most of the comments I have read here are from partisans who want to legalize marijuana. That's not what we voted for, and it's time for the City of Los Angeles to draw a line in the sand and make it clear that we're not going to be the pot capitol of America.

I think it would be a good idea to close them all down until the State comes up with a proper law that says exactly what is, and what is not allowed.

Hey, I'm a patient who has no movement in my right arm and I cannot carry anything heavy. I like to get high to make the rest of my life more tolerable and I don't know how to grow plants because it is too difficult with my all my illnesses. I buy my weed from a shop on Melrose where everyone is really cool and never hassle me about doctors papers that cost more than an 1/8 that I buy every day. So what's the problem with that? It's my choice, not some screwed up law that says I have to grow my own. I cannot grow my own because I am too sick to read all the instructions that come with the kit I bought. I spend all the disability money I get at the marijuana store and they even cash my checks for me. It's like a real community that I belong to who care about me and always give me a couple of extra joints to help me get through the day. My wife left me because she said I was a loser and took my kids to live in with her parents in Ontario. All I have is my friends at the store and a little weed to take away the pain. Is that so wrong. Wake up Los Angeles, it's 2009 not 1939 in Nazi Germany. Like the other cancer guy said, he cannot grow and I am the same, it's cruel and unusual punishment to make us into secod class citizens and not be allowed to medicate. Its bad enough that my welfare checks have to go to buy my medication, why don't you give us a break. We are all poor and sick and cannot grow stuff.

Dear LA,

Why did it take almost 12 years to submit 1 ordinance?

The new ordniance states that 'Over-the-counter sale of marijuana is illegal.'

So basically every collective will have to have every patient know where they grow and help them grow without a single cent exchanging hands. And since every patient is a expert grower and has free time this will work out FABULOUS!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Now the ordinance has a separate clause stating that collectives 'can recover out-of-pocket expenses for collective cultivation.'

So in essence they can receive money over the counter, BUT YOU WILL BE SLAPPED UPSIDE THE HEAD IF YOU SAY YOUR BUYING IT! GOT IT! And those employees better not expect to get paid for their work. Hard working volunteers get ZERO.

You have just entered Los Angeles County.

You have just walked into the Twilight Zone!
DOooOo-DooooOOoOO-DooO-DOOoo-DooooOOoo

Orange County's #1 actual non-profit collective.

215 Agenda

Offering the lowest priced, highest-quality, mildew free medicine for sick patients was just raided yesterday because 'they make way too much for a collective' according to a OC sheriff.

So when a collective does it right. They still get raided.

BTW, cant this be a court matter? Civil? No, we require the sheriffs office and k9 units outfitted with M16's and MP5's to take down this collective and hold the patients hostage based on a hunch from the sheriff. Really?!?

Food for Thought LA.

Monday, Sept. 16. Be there, or be forever squared.

Mark X,
Please come to the joint committee meeting on Monday morning (if your illnesses allow) and share your story. I think it will be very effective in swaying the committee members. Don't forget to medicate beforehand.

Thanks for your comment MarkX. I am also a disability receiver, but ALL my $ has to go to paying my rent, paying my utilities, and trying to have enough after that to pay for groceries. I have epilepsy, and I have tried many pharmaceuticals to curb it... they only made it much worse. Now I smoke MMJ and I went from 20-25 seizures PER MONTH, to less than 5 per month! Horay! I dont under stand though, how you can pay for an 1/8th every day? MY disability payment barely covers what I named above (my essentials), yet you seem to be able to pay all that, AND BUY AN 1/8TH EVERY DAY? HOW? I want to do the same thing you do, yet I cant even pay all my bills. HOW DO YOU DO THAT? PLEASE TELL ME!

1/8 a day is a very very high dosage. Who are you even talking to dude?

Cut back on the reefer. 1g/day keeps the doctor away. Learn how to titrate your dosage instead of just burning through it like a stoner would.

And buy it in bulk for the month, like 1 oz. per month is a healthy and reasonable dosage.

Or just grow it in your backyard, geez.

Sam,

I wrote my latest blog to explain the laws. Let me know what you think:

What does California Law Say about Non-Profit Sales of Medical Cannabis to Qualified Patients?

How can we account for what is perhaps one of the most dramatic legal disparities in medical cannabis to date? The issue of non-profit “sale” of medical cannabis to qualified patients in Los Angeles. There’s nothing else like this dispute. What do the experts say about this anyway?

Carmen Trutanich, The neaarly-elected Los Angeles City Attorney disagrees with Jerry Brown, the California State Attorney General.

How could 2 prominent state-employed attorneys come to wholly different conclusions on the answer? First the Los Angeles City Attorney claims “all sales are banned”. The California State Attorney General was sure enough to write in his guidelines that “storefront collectives may be legal under state law”. How could this be? After all each attorney is looking at the same thing, right?

So what is the answer? What does the law say?

http://waronme.blogspot.com/2009/11/image-trutanich-poses-with-medical.html

The law seems pretty clear to me:

"nor shall anything in this
section (SB420) authorize any individual or group to cultivate or distribute
marijuana for profit. "

This sentence describes exactly what is happening at something like one thousand storefront collectives in Los Angeles at this moment.

It doesn't get any more clear what the law is and should be.

There's a difference between profit and revenue. Some of those medical cannabis dispensing collectives are non-profit. Revenue is any funding coming in. Profit is anything funding left over after all the expenses are paid. That sentence doens't ban all "sales" especially non-profit incrimental reimbersement.

SB 420 also says it protects patients against prosecution for Section 11360 of the health & safety code which reads: "transports, imports into this state, sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away”— or offers to or attempts to do any of those.

IT CLEARLYSAYS "SELLS"!!!! Patients are protected against prosecution for "sales" it it within the guidelines (non-profit, non-diversion of cannabis grown for medical use, verified doctor's recommendations, etc)

Wow, are you guys stretching! Maybe we first need to define what the word "is" is...
If you are so confident that sales are protected, why have you come up with the ridiculous phrase "non-profit incrimental reimbursement"? Why not just say "sales are protected under 11360"?

I'll tell you why, and it's not because you are compassionately trying to help sick people (that jig is up). You are trying to protect a huge money making industry that you have built up and invested in over the past few years, and without sales, it all comes crumbling down. And YOU know that "sales" and "distribute marijuana for profit" are the same thing.
Good luck tomorrow morning. I have a feeling you will walk away disappointed.

All non-profits organizations have revenue: Red Cross, United Way Make a Wish, etc.. Whether it is "donations" or "sales". GoodWill makes many sales, that doesn't mean they are not non-profit.

S&HCode 11360 protects against non-profit sales!

Just because you don't understand or acknowledge our compassion to providing people with serious life-altering medical conditions with a natural herbal medicine that improves their quality of life doens't mean the "jig is up").

I haven't invest anything into this "industry", except for the reimbursement I give for my medical cannabis and what little money I've scraped up to donate to non-profit organizations like Americans for Safe Access.

"Sales" doesn't equal profit. A simple economic lesson can prove that. Revenue is different than profit. That's how non-profit organizations work in this country.

We shall overcome.

The challenge remains - will someone please cite the statutory authority or case law that allows for the "sale" of marijuana?

The fact is - no such authority exists under the law in California. In fact, if you read the plain language of the CUA and MMPA, it only allows qualified patients to cultivate, possess, transport or use marijuana for medical purposes; and only allows primary caregivers to cultivate, possess, transport, administer, deliver and "give away" marijuana for medical purposes. No where in the law are sales allowed.

A primary caregiver, however, is allowed to receive compensation for actual or out-of-pocket expenses for services related to providing marijuana - but not sales.

Hopefully, both sides to this argument will keep those who only seek to profit from the pain and suffering of the seriously ill from confusing and politicizing the issues, and keep the focus on providing a reliable, safe and documented supply of medicine to those who truly need it.

If you'd like to share your experiences with medical marijuana confidentially with our newsroom, please click the link on my name. I've got a few questions for you. You'll also become a news source for public radio, getting a question a month on topics in the news. Thanks in advance for helping KPCC cover this issue.