Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
The City of Los Angeles continued its long march towards regulations for medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives today, when the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee heard the second round of status updates from city departments. Committee members heard updates from the Planning Department, the Building and Safety Department, and comments from the public – including representatives from three Neighborhood Councils concerned about continued proliferation and nuisance activity around cannabis facilities. Notably absent, however, was input from newly elected City Attorney Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich, who has yet to take a public stand on medical cannabis regulations.
LA City Attorney Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich
City staff reported some progress during the brief discussion. Staff has mapped “sensitive uses” for 35% of the city. When the entire city is mapped, Planning Department staff will draw radii of various sizes around these addresses to determine how far collectives and cooperatives must be from a laundry list of uses, which may include schools, churches, parks, beach access points, youth-oriented businesses, places where young people tend to congregate, public beach access points, drug treatment facilities, and on and on.
Debate about what constitutes a sensitive use and how far permitted collectives must be from each is likely to be one of the most contentious debates in the process of writing the new ordinance. Neighbors concerned about crime and unchecked expansion in the number of patients’ associations are calling for broad buffer zones from a wide range of uses. Councilmember Paul Koretz, who is temporarily serving on the committee in former Councilmember Jack Weiss’ seat, expressed concern that the buffer zones must not be so large as to make operating a collective impossible. Chairman Ed Reyes assured listeners that the goal was to have an enforceable ordinance that secured access for those in need.
Buffer zones will be one of the contentious issues in the new draft ordinance, but there is an even more serious issue that threatens to complicate the process late in the game. City Attorney Trutanich has yet to weigh in on an unpublished draft ordinance circulated by city staff last week. Advocates worry that the City Attorney may be influenced by staff held over from former City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who regarded all storefront collectives and sales of cannabis as illegal. If Trurtanich ignores City Council instructions and case law affirming the legal status of collectives, he may revert to Delgadillo’s position that “illegal” activity can not be regulated. This would be a serious set back for patients and advocates.
Representatives from Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and the Greater Los Angeles Collectives Alliance (GLACA) are working hard to educate the City Attorney and his staff about the California Attorney General’s guidelines for medical cannabis, which recognize that legally organized and operated collectives may maintain storefront facilities; and about important case law upholding the legal status of patients’ associations in Los Angeles. Recent ASA court victories in Butte County and San Diego are the cornerstone of this effort.
Trutanich may pleasantly surprise advocates, who rallied around his candidacy in hopes of defeating former City Councilmember and medical cannabis opponent Jack Weiss in this year’s runoff election. However, his silence does little to reassure the community at this strategic juncture. Unless Trutanich repudiates his predecessor’s ideological stance and vocally supports real implementation, advocates may soon conclude that “better than Jack Weiss” is too low a standard for the City Attorney.
No one will benefit if the debate about new regulations regresses to where it was a year ago, when law enforcement and a reluctant City Attorney impeded regulation based on personal bias and faulty legal analysis. It is past time to move forward with sensible regulations, which are proven to protect patients and the community by reducing crime and complaints around collectives. The City Council should be eager for Los Angeles to join dozens of other jurisdictions that have already realized these benefits – especially given a growing backlash from neighborhood groups and critical media.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Two stories should raise an eyebrow for medical cannabis patients and advocates in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The LA Weekly ran an expose on the “wild west” medical cannabis situation in Los Angeles. The article features a “patient” diverting medicine and a very unfortunate depiction of a Hollywood collective/ministry. This article is more fuel on the fire for medical cannabis opponents. We can expect it will influence the PLUM Committee and full City Council in their deliberations regarding hundreds of hardship applications and permanent regulations. Medical cannabis collective operators and patients must be careful in what they present to the media. Not all press is good press. One individual’s fifteen minutes of fame may have serious consequences for everyone in the community.
A second story in the Daily Breeze announced Councilmember Hahn’s proposal to adopt a new city tax on medical cannabis. The Councilmember seems to be following the lead of the Oakland City Council, which recently placed a similar measure on the ballot at the urging of local cannabis collectives. The collectives hope paying extra tax will garner favor in the public eye, and some advocates think the proposal creates an incentive for jurisdictions to tax and regulate collectives instead of ban them. The verdict is still out on both counts. What is clear is that there is no consensus among collective operators or patients about the proposal. Tax-paying operators may balk at more over head, and patients have a reasonable fear that collectives will pass along the cost to the end user. Much more debate is needed before the community gets behind this proposal.
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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
“Los Angeles City Councilmember Dennis Zine acknowledged the work of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) at a reception honoring his inauguration to a third term on the City Council this afternoon. Speaking to an invitation-only crowd of almost one hundred supporters at City Hall, Councilmember Zine thanked ASA for working with the city to be sure that patients who need medical cannabis have safe access. ASA has been working with Councilmember Zine and other allies in city government since 2005 to develop and implement sensible regulations for patients’ association in the city…”
Read the entire post on ASA’s blog, Medical Cannabis: Voices from the Frontline.
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Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
The Los Angeles City Council quickly denied fourteen hardship applications today for medical cannabis collectives that opened or relocated since the city adopted a moratorium on new facilities in September of 2007. Observers expected a hard line from Councilmembers, who have come under increasing pressure from neighborhood groups and media in light of the proliferation and clustering of new collectives under the moratorium.
I joined five Councilmembers at a press conference before the meeting, where they reiterated their commitment to protecting safe access and enforcing local law. Councilmembers Zine, Hahn, Huizar, Reyes, and Garcetti all answered pointed questions from media and promised an aggressive response to the neighborhood concerns. Councilmember Zine also acknowledged the work of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) by name, thanking them for diligent work in promoting sensible regulations.
The City Council later approved a motion by Councilmember Huizar to remove the controversial hardship provision, and surprised advocates by extending the city’s moratorium on new facilities for another six months. The provisions will take effect when the City Council votes on a new ordinance next week. Councilmember Huizar said that staff needs more time to craft permanent regulations. City staff reassured concerned advocates that the extension was legal – despite the fact that it exceeds the usual two-year limit for urgency ordinances.
Observers were surprised to hear strong words of support for medical cannabis and cannabis law reform from Councilmember Alarcon, who has so far been silent on the topic. Councilmembers Zine, Rosendahl, Huizar, Reyes, LaBonge, and Hahn also rose in vigorous support of medical cannabis – and all worried aloud about abuse of the system. Councilmember-elect Paul Koretz will replace outgoing Councilmember Weiss, an opponent of safe access, as a solid pro-access vote in July. The growing cadre of medical cannabis supporters on the City Council means sensible regulations are almost certain to be adopted (when they are finally finished). Only Councilmembers Smith and Parks rose today to oppose the Council’s pro-medical cannabis agenda.
Hardship applicants would fare no better in hearings before the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee later this afternoon. The committee denied one application after cursory testimony. Chairman Reyes continued a second hearing so that Councilmember Rosendahl’s office could confirm the applicant’s claim that the collective was not already open, and therefore, not in violation of the moratorium.
Today’s press conference and 15-0 scorecard make it clear that the City Council and PLUM Committee sent a message to hundreds of hardship applicants awaiting hearings. The rapid proliferation and anecdotal reports of bad behavior have generated a backlash against which applicants must fight. For most, the outcome is likely to be bad. This is especially unfortunate for the unknown number of collectives that registered with the City Clerk before the moratorium, but later relocated as a result of federal intimidation.
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Saturday, June 6th, 2009
The Los Angeles City Council will take up fourteen hardship applications for medical cannabis collectives in Eagle Rock and Highland Park on Tuesday morning. These are the first of approximately five hundred hardship applications filed for medical cannabis facilities that opened or relocated after the City Council adopted a moratorium on new collectives on September 14, 2007. Increasing pressure from neighborhood groups and bad media coverage have embarrassed the City Council in recent weeks, and observers expect all or most of the applications will be denied. The City Council will also vote on a motion by Councilmember Huizar to remove the hardship provision from the city’s moratorium. If approved, the motion will prevent any new hardship applications.
Later on Tuesday, the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee will discuss permanent regulations, which the City Council plans to adopt before the moratorium expires September. Medical cannabis advocates joined City Councilmember Dennis Zine earlier this year in rejecting a draft ordinance prepared by outgoing City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. That misguided measure regarded collectives as illegal and would have forced every facility in Los Angeles to close. The PLUM Committee is expected to send recommendations for improved regulations to the full City Council on Tuesday. The Council will then forward the recommendations, including any amendments, to the City Attorney’s office with instructions to write a new ordinance.
An alphabet soup of advocacy organizations has been working with Councilmembers and city staff for over a year to craft the permanent regulations – Americans for Safe Access (ASA), Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA), Patients Advocacy Network (PAN). These groups join other local players, including patients, law enforcement, and neighborhood groups. The final phase of writing the ordinance will be controversial, as various interests compete to shape the next draft. Expect differing strategies and priorities.
There is likely to be something in the draft ordinance to which every stakeholder objects. Ultimately, every measure must be evaluated based on its benefit or harm to legal patients. It will be even more important now that every medical cannabis supporter in Los Angeles stay plugged in and let Councilmembers know which provisions help facilitate access to medicine – and which will roll back patients’ rights.
The City Council meets at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, June 9, in Room 340, City Hall, 200 North Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. Arrive early to complete a public speaker’s card. The PLUM Committee meets at 2:00 PM just across the rotunda in Room 350.
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