LA City Council moves to end hardship applications
April 29th, 2009 | by Don Duncan |
Los Angeles City Council Member Jose Huizar made a motion yesterday to remove the hardship provision from the Interim Control Ordinance (ICO), which established a moratorium on new medical cannabis collectives in Los Angeles in 2007. The hardship provision allowed collectives that did not register with the City Clerk’s office before November 13, 2007, to ask the City Council for a special exemption from the moratorium. If adopted as drafted, Councilmember Huizar’s motion will prevent any new hardship applications, but have no effect on the previously registered collectives – including 287 collectives with pending hardship applications.
The City Council anticipated that hardship applicants would not operate their facilities until their applications were approved. However, virtually all of the applicants are currently operating in alleged violation of the ICO. It remains to be seen what action the city will take in response to the applications, but Councilmembers and staff are concerned about neighborhoods where collectives are clustering and those locations that generate complaints from neighbors.
There is likely to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding Councilmember Huizar’s new motion, the city’s movement to enforce the ICO, and the final approval of a permanent ordinance regulating collectives and cooperatives in Los Angeles. Hardship operators would do well to address any neighborhood concerns right away, and prepare to make their case when and if the City Council considers their applications. I suspect many collectives are poorly prepared for this scrutiny.
Los Angeles collectives should join the Greater Los Angeles Caregivers Alliance (GLACA), a voluntary association of collectives and cooperatives organized to promote safety and operational protocols. GLACA and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) have been working closely with city officials for over four years to protect safe access in the city. GLACA membership means having real-time access to accurate information, and the opportunity to influence the outcome of the regulatory process.
GLACA holds monthly meetings for collective operators on the third Wednesday night of every month at 9:00 PM. Email info@caregiversalliance.org for more information.
Tags: caregivers alliance, glaca, jose huizar, los angeles city council, moratorium, operational protocols
