L.A. City Council votes 14-0 to ban medical marijuana shops

[VirginHarvester]

how would you get or seed legitimately without dispensaries?

one thing not addressed ever is the variety a dispensary provides. Sure I can grow my own, and then in 3 months... if I am lucky get a good harvest, and cure it right, smoke my own....but what if the strain I grow doesn't work for me?

Dispensaries are very good at solving this problem... with lots of kinds to sample.

Agreed. It is intriguing that marijuana is introduced on Front Line(I believe) as a dangerous narcotic(BS I know). But the city of LA would rather us produce this drug on our own. They surely wouldn't want other drugs produced by our own efforts.

They can't really be serious, can they? Well, if they really are just looking to reduce access because they understand, or fail to, that it is quite difficult to produce quality herb; and that many people have no way of doing so in their homes, then yes. If their goal is to have even more marijuana sold/bought on the streets, yes. If they don't believe it's a drug we deserve to have access to that doesn't really affect or treat illness, then yes. The latter point I believe is the biggest problem we have- they don't believe it's medicine.

On the issue of crime, I think we all would bet our life's savings that drug stores and places to obtain or abuse alcohol cause much much more actual crime, pain, and loss. But as far as I can tell the city just wants to control access to this relatively harmless drug. It's not like they are actually solving the problem of access; and it doesn't matter which segments of our society require and desire cannabis- as if the segments that abuse alcohol and other drugs should be insulated from prohibition because they have more potential or "higher" positions in society. The fact is, those drugs cause a lot of harm.

 

[draph]

You guys don't realize what you are doing to the rest of the US anyways... I'm glad you're getting banned, not hating but appreciative. Mj is a rosales fruit so she isn't bad in any manner but the price war has to stop. that $3000 price needs to be $5000. You guys are selling yourselves short because of the high demand and competition in the small area. Glad we (the rest of the country) gotta a little help from the fed, wow I can't even realize I said that. You can go ahead and start clicking [__NO__] now.

You talkin about MMJ or street MJ?

Anyway its all supply and demand. If there was no supply and the demand stayed the same, you bet your ass you could get 6, 7, even 8k a unit. In the golden state though lots of outdoor and indoor. lots of supply.

 

[kmk420kali]

Don't want to be slingin' shit at CA.....BUT......if there wasn't an epidemic problem....there wouldn't be a backlash. I don't know or understand the politicking out there, but it's well established and common knowledge that folks feel the system was and is abused.
That doesn't mean there aren't legitmate patients in desperate need, but they're clearly the minority.

And YES, Obama has been a dirtbag with his policies against MMJ. Of course there are also those ultra-conservative dickheads that are always going to want to put the kibosh on medical or recreational pot.......

BUT, you think after having established a working and pioneering system of medicine....that folks would have been able to keep a handle on things so it would stay around. Instead, the whole joint turned into the wild west of weed....and you've got everybody and their uncle pointing fingers at Cali stating what not to do if and when medical comes their way.

Ya' know what: moderation and a lower profile would have gone SOOOOO MUCH FURTHER.

With all due respect...do you think the whole State...every Voter...missed the line, "or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. "??
When Tax Laws are enacted...they are taken literally...and any loop-hole is fair game--
Why is it any different for MMJ??
A Law is there...until it is changed--
Prop 215 stands as it is...anybody that benefits from Cannabis...can use it-- Hangnail or Cancer!!

 

[lordofthenugz]

The way I see it is that this has come down to negative vote for a reason. Not my place to judge but I do know a few things that this could prompt us to take minute and think about:
Each of us should double our efforts to remain responsible citizens while civilly disobedient. If these are changes based off of market tweaking from the powers that be in an attempt to make more money, it will all balance out soon enough. If it is based off of the type of clientele and what seems to be the standard surrounding the dispensaries, then it could also help us by being more careful of how we represent ourselves until there is no more legal issues. We must keep the belief that if we represent and speak out as peaceful, responsible members of our communities we can change the image that the other side views as a "typical pothead". Instead of all the lil thugs and idiots being outspoken about their "kush brah" maybe the ones that should be can clearly state a legitimate case and represent better. Don't get me wrong, I think it should just be completely legal, but that will not happen as long as there is greed, power, and money to be made whether through sale or leo preventative measures. I just think that this is a small trial by fire thatay motivate some of us to step up and represent the community with intelligence instead of crying "discrimination!".

I also know that we will all just keep rolling with the punches until we are heard, with love, patience, peacefulness, compassion for ignorance, forgiveness, and persistence. Because we believe we are right and love what we do.


Sorry if any of that was rambling on too much, just trying to get it said.

Peace

 

[avant gardener]

762 dispensaries!!!

and that's just the ones that are registered and in the city proper. never mind long beach and burbank and pasadena and all the unregistered ones and the umpteen delivery services. there's clearly a glut of storefronts operating in lax.

in san diego, we used to have around 250 shops in the county and it was ridiculous. you couldn't walk around the corner without tripping over 3 dispensaries. most of them were stocked with second and third rate flowers at prices that sane folks wouldn't pay for AAA in a drought.

now there's roughly as many people in the city of los angeles as in san diego county. and they've got three times as many storefronts as what was total overkill here. you do the math. everyone can't stay open.

y'all did catch the part where it says they're going to leave 170 shops open, yeah? read between the lines. the story is all there. this "ban" on dispensaries actually amounts to little more than the city arbitrarily deciding which shops get to stay open rather than letting the market sort it out organically. it's nepotism, plain and simple. and if it's anything like dago, i'd be willing to wager that ASA (and some of the AB 2312 folks) are right in the ears of the city council regarding who should be allowed to operate and in the next breath handing the cops information on who should get raided first. they want to use the bureaucracy make a tidy closed racket out of a cottage industry and it fucking stinks. a lot of folks don't realize it, but some organizations that claim to be working to end prohibition are actually more concerned with protecting their own interests, regardless of whether they cost others their livelihood and/or freedom in the process.

 

[stasis]

It was all rubbed in their faces too hard. This Movement does not usually benefit from Blatancy...

Jeesh, 1 in 8 clubs is any good with decent product anyways..

No matter which area one is in.. Seems to be true worldwide, in fact.

 

[Zen Master]

they are going to have an ordinance meeting about leaving 170 open... not just outright allow the oldest 170 or something like that... and politiking can take forever as we all know.

why 170? how many liquor stores are in LA? a ban at all is bullshit, its all money grubbing before they (cities) cant get away with it anymore. I wonder how much tax revenue they are losing by closing (if they actually enforce this ban) 592 businesses.

 

[indoor/outdoor]

I GOTTA LAY DOWN THE LAW!!!! ALL USE OF THIS SACRED PLANT IS THERAPY NO MATTER WHO USES IT,PERIOD!!!! THE HERB HEALS THE NATIONS FOREVER!!!! THE PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM NOT THE PLANT, GREED HAS A LOT TO DO WITH IT.WE NEED LOVE THAT'S WHAT THE PLANT PROVIDES ,WE GOTTA LOVE SOMETHING

 

[indoor/outdoor]

MONEY IS JUST PAPER WE CHASE AND LOVE, WORSHIP! FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL , STOP LYING TO YOURSELF THAT MONEY ISN'T GONNA SAVE YOU FROM YOURSELF BROTHERS .WHATS THE MONEY WORTH?

 

[indoor/outdoor]

OH YEAH I FORGOT MITT ROMNEY IS GONNA SAVE US ALL

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Guess what all this fuss is over nothing. The City of LA just wasted there time. Earlier this month the supreme court of California has said cities and counties can not bean dispensaries.

State Court Guts Local Ban on Marijuana Dispensaries Although Feds Have Closed 500 Pot Shops
^
http://www.allgov.com/usa/ca/news/c...gh_feds_have_closed_500_pot_shops?news=641711

 

[irobot sd]

Stay out of Malibu Lebowski!

 

[avant gardener]

Guess what all this fuss is over nothing. The City of LA just wasted there time. Earlier this month the supreme court of California has said cities and counties can not bean dispensaries.

State Court Guts Local Ban on Marijuana Dispensaries Although Feds Have Closed 500 Pot Shops
^
http://www.allgov.com/usa/ca/news/c...gh_feds_have_closed_500_pot_shops?news=641711

no dude. it hasn't gone to the ca supreme court yet. that's just the state appellate court. the very same court in fact that told long beach they weren't allowed to sanction pot shops on account of federal law. there are going to be at least a few more judicial reviews before this thing is decided.


for them that don't click links:

It all may be moot if the federal government amps up its crackdown on California medical marijuana, but for now lower state courts are setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown over city and county bans on dispensaries.


On Monday, California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal struck down Los Angeles County’s 2010 ban on medical marijuana dispensaries because state law allows collectives to grow and distribute pot. The decision may be appealed to the state Supreme Court but for now its effect on similar local bans in places like Long Beach, Danville, Daly City and Leandro remains uncertain.


Also uncertain is how whipsawed cities and counties will react to efforts to enforce federal laws that consider possession and distribution of marijuana illegal. California’s four U.S. Attorneys have joined with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Drug Enforcement Agency to shut down at least 500 cannabis dispensaries over the past eight months.


Even in the U.S. Attorneys’ Northern District, which is a hotbed of resistance and includes San Francisco and Oakland, an estimated 46% of the 1,400 dispensaries that existed in October are now closed. According to Americans for Safe Access, the 50 or so municipalities in the district with pot ordinances (except San Francisco and Oakland) have suspended administration of dispensaries.


Compounding the chaotic situation is a number of cases filtering through the state court system and, perhaps, heading for the state Supreme Court. That includes a seemingly conflicting case from the 2^nd District Court of Appeal in October that seemed to smack down medical marijuana advocates when it ruled that Long Beach couldn’t issue permits to dispensaries because federal law criminalizes marijuana. The 4^th District Court of Appeal has ruled that Anaheim can’t ban dispenseries just because of federal laws. The high court also has cases on dispensary bans in Riverside and San Bernardino.


“It's chaos,” said Dale Gieringer, California director for the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws. “We're going to have to wait for the Supreme Court to sort this out.”
Not that the high court would necessarily have the last word. Joe Elford, legal counsel for Americans for Safe Access, has said, “If the Supreme Court issues a decision we don't agree with, we're going to the Legislature to clarify it,” he said. “I don't think the California Supreme Court will be the last word on these issues.”

–Ken Broder​

 

[kmk420kali]

no dude. it hasn't gone to the ca supreme court yet. that's just the state appellate court. the very same court in fact that told long beach they weren't allowed to sanction pot shops on account of federal law. there are going to be at least a few more judicial reviews before this thing is decided.

Good catch!!

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

People have said that the system has been abused by people without physical medical need, but so what? Am I only entitled to smoke pot if I have a medical reason for doing so? If they are able to use a loophole to do something legally that they should be allowed to do regardless, then so be it. Good for them. There's no reason to restrict marijuana from people without medical need and, imho, it's just as wrong for someone to say "I have a medical reason to smoke pot so I am entitled to, but others without an illness have no right or business smoking pot" as it is for politicians to decide that nobody should be allowed to toke up. It's bullshit all around.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

no dude. it hasn't gone to the ca supreme court yet. that's just the state appellate court. the very same court in fact that told long beach they weren't allowed to sanction pot shops on account of federal law. there are going to be at least a few more judicial reviews before this thing is decided.


for them that don't click links:

OH!!!!! this explains a lot thank you for clearing that up for me. I hate to be a spreader of misinformation. GOOD CATCH INDEED!

 

[motaco]

People have said that the system has been abused by people without physical medical need, but so what? Am I only entitled to smoke pot if I have a medical reason for doing so?

Yes actually. That was the precise point of the medical marijuana movement.

Like it or not. That was what people voted on. Not that you could just smoke pot legally.

I agree with the premise of what you are saying. But its just coming out dumb.

If you want legalized weed, then make that argument, but don't say medical marijuana is legalized weed and you have the right to it without being sick. That is not what the people voted on, and the blatant fraud of the system is what is making people crack down on it.

You can't take the law people voted on and then twist it into what you wish it was and then claim you have a legal right to it. You could do that with anything. The NRA would love to turn self defense laws into offense laws (with cases like Treyvon Martin they are certainly working on it), but that isn't what people voted on to legally allow.

They said you have the right to defend yourself. They never said that you have the right to pursue a stranger with a gun and shoot him if he gets mouthy.

Well the CA courts said you can smoke marijuana if you are sick, not if you just feel happier when you smoke it. The law is the law. If you don't like it then work to change it, or accept the consequences for breaking it. Its not a case of just do what you want because the law said something kinda sorta similar to what you are doing so that is good enough. It isn't.

Do I think you should just be able to buy a license and smoke and grow weed? Yes. But that isn't what the law says. And if you blatantly break the law en masse you have to assume government agencies will crack down on it.

 

[maxibiogreen]

.

.

One day it's ok and the next one it's no longer allowed, it is real strange ..and not so much in fact .Hypocrites rules.

Seems that it did not bothered the cities to collect taxes from dispensaries though.
This "go forth and back" thing won't ever stop I believe, it sadly has always been like this.

If anyone is interested there is a documentary named "the union"( wich resume well how MJ evolved over the last century from a certain point of vue. things did not change...

Unless we all join and complain to change things once and for all we should all follow the established and changing laws because I m sorry to say but pointing an issue other the web does not change many things. But is the people really ready to do so and take actions? I do not think so.

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

^well most of us hear grow weed so that is a pretty strong action would say

 

[stonedstoner]

la should regulate it similarly to oakland and berkeley