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 City Attorney Trutanich has yet to weigh in on an unpublished draft ordinance circulated by city staff last week.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 »
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Angelinos got some indication about what direction city staff will take in developing an ordinance regulating collectives and cooperatives in Los Angeles when the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee heard status updates at this afternoon’s meeting. Input from city staff is encouraging, but it is clear there is still significant work to do in crafting policies that protect access and patient privacy, while addressing community concerns.
The Planning Department has assembled a project team to craft a land use ordinance that specifies in which zoning districts collectives and cooperatives can establish storefront facilities and how far they must be from other medical cannabis facilities, sensitive uses, and businesses prone to nuisance activity (liquor stores, adult entertainment, etc.). The Building and Safety Department is coordinating on separate operational protocols, which are likely to include regulations concerning hours of operation, required security, and other measures.
Observers were surprised by a proposal from the Planning Department for a more lenient permit process than the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) proposed by advocates. City Planner Alan Bell told the committee that permits may be available to any collective or cooperative that meets the land use and operational requirements without a public hearing, while other facilities can request an exception to some requirements through an administrative hearing process. We can anticipate some controversy on this topic. Neighborhood groups want more input in the permit process, and even some advocates want a tougher process to allay community concerns.
The City Council’s legislative analyst has already circulated language for the ordinance to various departments for review, but has not yet discussed the matter in detail with newly elected City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. City staff is doing technical analysis on the draft ordinance now. Part of this process includes developing maps showing what territory would be off limits given differing requirements for distances between collectives and sensitive uses. PLUM Committee Chairman Reyes asked staff to report back on their timeline in two weeks.
A representative from the Code Enforcement said that his department is already enforcing hardship application denials, saying that five facilities have already closed and six have been referred to the City Attorney’s office for further enforcement. Newly elected City Councilmember and PLUM Committee member Paul Koretz was the first member to sound a cautionary note regarding hardship applications. Koretz questioned the wisdom of closing facilities that might ultimately qualify under the new ordinance. It remains to be seen whether this represents a softening of the committee’s hard line approach to hardship applications.
I encouraged committee members to be careful about recommending any regulations containing a laundry list of sensitive uses, pointing out that the well-regulated facilities anticipated by this ordinance would not be problematic for neighbors. Councilmember Huizar echoed this sentiment. He related his positive experience visiting Cornerstone Research in Eagle Rock. The Councilmember said there was no reason that facility could not be near a sensitive use, adding he was rethinking a proposed 1,000-foot requirement in the current draft.
I also encouraged the committee to abandon plans to require collectives to disclose the names of patient-cultivators. Chairman Reyes agreed to hear more on this topic. Reyes also expressed concern about doctors writing recommendations too freely. I reminded committee members that enforcement for doctors falls to the California Medical Board, which has already sanctioned doctors who fail to uphold the agency’s standards.
In a subsequent item, the PLUM Committee also recommended denial of a hardship application for a collective on Venice Blvd. When questioned by Councilmember Koretz about what constitutes a hardship under the moratorium, a representative from the City Attorney’s office said that the decision was a exclusively legislative one, which must only have a “rational basis.” The representative reiterated that the hardship application did not give anyone permission to operate in violation of the moratorium.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | 2 Comments »
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, May 20th, 2009
Medical cannabis patients and advocates helped elect Carmen Trutanich as the new City Attorney on Tuesday, but the results in the District 5 City Council race are still too close to call. Paul Koretz appears to be the likely winner in that contest, but with only a few hundred votes separating him from his opponent, the provisional ballots will decide the outcome. The Los Angeles medical cannabis community threw its growing grassroots weight behind Koretz and Trutanich in hopes of steering the city towards a more reasonable medical cannabis policy.
City Attorney Elect Trutanich with GLACA members
The Greater Los Angeles Caregivers Alliance (GLACA), which is working to develop and implement sensible regulations for medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives, helped call voters, walk precincts, and turn out hundreds of members to elect the two candidates. GLACA members joined City Councilmembers Zine and Hahn in Universal City on Tuesday night to celebrate Trutanich’s victory, while a delegation of medical cannabis advocates gathered in central Los Angeles to watch the neck-and-neck race with Koretz.
The election of Trutanich – and possibly Koretz – is good news for medical cannabis supporters. Paul Koretz is the former Mayor of West Hollywood and California Assemblymember who has been a long-time champion of medical cannabis rights. He is likely to replace medical cannabis opponent Jack Weiss as the representative for District 5 – which will mean one more vote for safe access on the City Council.
Carmen Trutanich defeated outgoing Los Angeles City Councilmember Jack Weiss in the race for City Attorney following a surprisingly negative campaign. Patients and advocates feared Weiss would carry on outgoing City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo’s policy of obstructing progress on implementing sensible medical cannabis policy in the city. Trutanich told GLACA members he would uphold the state’s laws at a neighborhood meeting before the election.
Neighborhood groups and media have been critical of the City Council and City Attorney’s office for not moving quickly enough to regulate the exploding number of patients’ associations in Los Angeles. Having another medical cannabis supporter on the City Council and a more reasonable City Attorney could be important as the city begins the work of adopting a permanent ordinance in earnest this summer.
Congratulations to GLACA, the Union of Medical Marijuana Patients, and dozens of patients’ associations who helped make a difference!
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
There is a special election for the City of Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 19, and we have a chance to make a big difference for medical cannabis patients and providers that day. Because this is a run-off election it will be decided by just a few hundred votes! The medical cannabis community is supporting Paul Koretz for City Council (District 5) and Carmen Trutanich for City Attorney.
If you are a registered voter in the City of Los Angeles, please find your polling place and vote on Tuesday, May 19. You should encourage friends, loved ones, medical cannabis advocates, and members of your patients’ association to do the same!
The Greater Los Angeles Caregivers Alliance (GLACA), a voluntary association of local collectives working to promote best practices in the field of medical cannabis, is organizing volunteers to make calls and walk precincts in the final days before the election. The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients (UMPP) is also mobilizing the base by distributing thousands of post cards about the candidates all over the city and hosting a victory party. Many Los Angeles patients’ associations are offering incentives to memebrs who cast a balllot next week.
Why all the fuss over a runoff election? Because this runoff will have a big impact on the city’s medical cannabis policy. If elected, Paul Koretz, a long time champion of medical cannabis rights, will replace medical cannabis opponent Jack Weiss in District 5. That means we will replace an anti–medcial cannabis vote with a solid pro-medcial cannabis vote. Better still, we can help elect Carmen Trutanich in his close race for District Attorney with outgoing District 5 Councilmember Jack Weiss. If Trutanich wins, we can anticipate a more reasonable approach to medical cannabis and local implementation. If Weiss wins, we can expect more stalling and blocking from his office.
Imagine how much better off we will be in Los Angeles with one more vote on the City Council and a reasonable City Attorney! This is a rare chance to make a big difference with a few votes. Do your part to elect Paul Koretz to City Council (District 5) and Carmen Trutanich as City Attorney.
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