Laguna Woods
June 9th, 2009 | by Don Duncan |Tonight, I was the guest of Concerned Citizens of Laguna Woods for a community meeting to discuss medical cannabis. Laguna Woods is the only city in Orange County to adopt an ordinance regulating medical cannabis collectives. The city’s decision to authorize a storefront patients’ association is remarkable because it is the result of a grassroots movement in a city where the average resident is 78 years old.
Other panelists at tonight’s meeting included City Manager Leslie Keane, Dr. Bill Schwied, nurse and medical cannabis patient Margo Bouer, and recently retired O.C. County Superior Court Judge Jim Gray. Judge Gray is a leading spokesperson for cannabis and medical cannabis law reform. His eloquent comments drew loud applause from the crowd of almost 200 seniors.
The ordinance in Laguna Woods is an important historic development, but it is also in need of improvement. The single collective authorized may only serve residents of the city between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The ordinance also requires the still hypothetical collective to be located 1,000 feet from a very broad range of uses, including a “youth oriented establishment” – a hopelessly subjective term that could apply to a 7-11 store, shopping mall, or pizza parlor.
Even regulations adopted for a city of only 18,000 senior citizens can have unanticipated impact on implementation in other cities and counties. Observant advocates will recognize many of the provisions of the Laguna Hills ordinance in recommendations for permanent regulations sent to the full City Council by the Los Angeles Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee this week.
Tags: dispensary, Jim Gray, Laguna Woods, ordinance
By Joshua J. Lewis on Oct 22, 2009
Does anyone know how to get a hold of Debra? I need to update a report I did on Laguna Woods and I needed to ask her a couple questions. Please Help.