Friday, May 6th, 2011
LA City Attorney Trutanich
Los Angeles City Council is likely to approve a request by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to extend the deadline for complying with the city’s Medical Cannabis Ordinance for another 180 days. The extension is necessary because litigation and administrative delays made the original June 7 deadline for compliance impossible.
Numerous collectives have filed lawsuits challenging the ordinance, including new lawsuits seeking to overturn a controversial provision that will select 100 eligible collectives at random. Staff members at the City Attorney’s office are currently reviewing more than 200 applications to participate in the lottery. There is no indication how long that process will take. Meanwhile, the City Attorney filed lawsuits against seven collectives deemed ineligible to register for the lottery. Mr. Trutanich will seek injunctive relief to close those collectives immediately.
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Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
The Los Angeles City Council has delayed a vote on an amendment to the Medical Cannabis Ordinance that would have allowed many of the pre-moratorium patients’ collectives to seek registration. Councilmembers Hahn and Koretz proposed the amendment last week in response to the City Clerk’s Preliminary Priority list published on August 25. That list indicated that 75% of the pre-moratorium collectives were ineligible to register. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich quickly filed a lawsuit seeking to close the allegedly ineligible collectives.
The City Council will probably vote on the amendment on Wednesday of next week. Medical cannabis patients and providers support the measure as a step towards reforming the badly flawed Medical Cannabis Ordinance. Councilmembers would be wise to support the common-sesnse amendment. It will resolve the City Attorney’s lawsuit – and preempt dozens of counter-suits already underway.
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Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Lloyd Pilchen, Esq.
New Litigation Will Challenge LA’s Flawed Medical Marijuana Regulations
From Llyod Pilchen on CALawBlog.com -
“Bewildered and angry describes the reactions of medical marijuana advocates and dispensary operators to the city’s eligibility list, released on August 25, 2010, indicating that only one in four dispensaries will be allowed to move forward in the approval process in the City of Los Angeles. The lopsided result raises profound questions about the city’s medical marijuana ordinance and its implementation, and is sure to multiply the many lawsuits against the city…”
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Almost one hundred medical cannabis collective operators and patients protested in front of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office on Tuesday morning, before going into City Hall to speak to the City Council. Advocates are outraged by the City Attorney’s decision to sue 135 collectives deemed ineligible to register under the new ordinance by the City Clerk’s office. Collective operators hold that the decision to exclude more than 75% of the legal collectives is based on a narrow interpretation of the law and incorrect facts.
The City Clerk maintains that there is no appeal process for administrative decisions about eligibility, and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich moved quickly to file suit against every ineligible collective – without regards to the individual facts of each case. Lawyers are lining up on both sides. Expect confusion and high legal bills for operators and taxpayers alike. A political solution looks unlikely. Councilmembers Huizar and Reyes told the LA Times they plan to sit this one out.
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Thursday, August 26th, 2010
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich
From the ASA Blog –
“The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office has filed a complaint asking for a Temporary Restraining Order and Permanent Injunction closing 135 pre-moratorium medical cannabis collectives deemed ineligible to register under the city’s new ordinance. The complaint is City Attorney Carmen Trutanich’s latest escalation in his campaign to roll back safe access to medical cannabis in the city. His aggressive posture has already raised the ire of patients, legal collective operators, and advocates in the state’s largest city – including many who played an instrumental role in developing and promoting regulation in the city…”
Read the entire post and download a copy of the complaints at http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=845
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