Sunday, December 12th, 2010
From John Hoeffel in the LA Time: “Judge issues injunction against L.A.’s medical marijuana law”
“A judge handed Los Angeles a setback in its faltering drive to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, granting a preliminary injunction on Friday that bars the city from enforcing key provisions in its controversial six-month-old ordinance.
The decision, issued by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr, leaves the city with limited power to control pot stores, which opened by the hundreds, angering neighborhood activists when city officials failed to enforce a 2007 moratorium…”
Read the entire story in the LA Times.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | No Comments »
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.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Judge David P. Yaffe
The LA Times reports that Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe has denied a request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that would have blocked enforcement of the new medical cannabis ordinance against hundreds of collectives that opened after the Los Angeles city Council adopted a moratorium on new facilities in 2007. The plaintiffs hoped to stop the city from closing the post moratorium collectives when the city’s tough new ordinance takes effect on June 7.
(more…)
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Mayor Villaraigosa
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the final version of the city’s new medical cannabis ordinance on April 30. The state’s toughest regulations become effective on June 7. The City Attorney’s office sent letters to hundreds of collectives deemed in violation of the ordinance this week. The letters threaten civil and criminal penalties if the collectives remain open after the effective date. Time will tell if the city has the resources and political will to send in the police department to enforce its threats.
Collectives qualified to register under the ordinance are breathing only a little easier. Restrictions on where collectives can be located and on how many be in any one of the city’s thirty five Community Plan Areas mean that virtually all of the qualified collectives must relocate in short order. In response to a lawsuit filed by Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the city dropped a requirement that collectives provide their new address within seven days of the effective date. This is only a minor reprieve, however. All of the qualified collectives must complete a thorough (and expensive) pre-inspection process at their new address within thirty days after the city publishes the “priority list” of qualified candidates.
A handful of collectives will find suitable properties and jump through bureaucratic hoops in time to register under the ordinance, but it is unlikely that it will be the maximum number of seventy allowed. This is good news for compliance-minded collectives that are not qualified to register in the first round. Those that can wait six months to enter lotteries may still find an opening in one of the Community Plan Areas.
The Byzantine timelines and other restrictions in this ordinance have already generated litigation. Expect that to continue as qualified and un-qualified collectives run up against deadlines, unworkable restrictions, and regulations that violate their rights and common sense.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | 1 Comment »
