Fuck LA

[Undermind]

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8747107&cmp=twi-kabc-article-8747107

Los Angeles City Council votes to ban marijuana shops
Tuesday, July 24, 2012

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles City Council has voted to ban hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries that have cropped up across the city.

The council on Tuesday voted to rid the city of pot clinics that some residents say have been a blight on neighborhoods. City officials estimate there could be more than 900 collectives open currently.

Many cities have struggled with medical marijuana ordinances but none has had a bigger problem than Los Angeles, where pot shops have proliferated. At one point, the city ordered closure of the shops - a process that failed amid lawsuits and conflicting rulings by appellate courts.

The so-called "gentle ban" eliminates storefronts but allow patients and caregivers to grow medical marijuana.

Those in favor of the ban argue that pot shops are popping up everywhere, driving away businesses and bringing in criminal activity.

"There's more of these dispensaries than there are Starbucks in all of Los Angeles," said John Moretta. "It's a situation that because of greed, they have multiplied. For example, just in my parish boundaries, there are three new dispensaries that started within the last three months."

People against the proposal say banning dispensaries will cut off access to medicine and force patients to purchase marijuana on the black market.

"This is not a ban on dispensaries, this is a ban on life. If I don't access medicine, I will die," said one opponent of the ban.

There are upwards of 800 dispensaries in Los Angeles.

Opponents of an outright blanket ban on dispensaries are asking the council to consider limited immunity for some pot shops. The council is scheduled to consider the plan, which would shut down most dispensaries but allow about 100 businesses that were established before September 2007 to stay open with strict regulations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[VDB]

If the LA "problem" doesn't illustrate the strength of the demand for pot, which in turn should underscore the futility of the drug war, I don't know what will...

This argues for full-scale legalization, which would allow cities to license and manage retailers in the way that works best for them, and then deal with unauthorized retailers just like any other illegally operating business.

[emay]

Wow I would never think LA would do that....

I remember Fort Collins or maybe Colorado Springs closed all dispensaries, but didnt think that would happen in Cali.
Hope this isnt gonna be a spearhead for more cities to close down dispensaries.
Medical marijuana industry has been takin some hits lately. Seems like the federal government is trying to squash medical marijuana dispensaries.
I need to get out to CO asap! :smoke:

[whatapiper]

We are just getting started out here, come to the NW.  What's happening in LA is certainly not an issue here.  We will most likely be legal by the end of the decade.

[emay]

We are just getting started out here, come to the NW.  What's happening in LA is certainly not an issue here.  We will most likely be legal by the end of the decade.

That is my second choice!

I also think it has to do with the density of the population in big cities in Cali. They just never really regulate opening dispensaries since so many people are in such a small area, they probably thought it was straight, until finally the feds are like look you have 1 dispensary for every like 200 people, thats not right. No way can all these people be patients. In Baltimore city, they have a specific number of liquor licenses they can permit. When a store closes, they have an extra license they can give to someone else that requests opening a store. I feel like this is a good way to regulate dispensaries in LA.

My friends were telling me in CO they shut down a good bit of dispensaries because they were within like 300 ft of a school zone or something. That seems pretty legitimate to me. That place is also getting blown up with dispensaries and with such a large influx of dispensaries, its going to upset the feds. But it doesnt stop people from having cards and growing on their own...so why not just allow people to purchase small amounts at dispensaries rather than having every patient in the state grow up to 6 plants or whatever...seems like that will just add to the problem of having excess herbs and having those herbs sent across state lines to places that do not believe in medical marijuana.