Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
From the ASA blog – Medical Cannabis: Voices from the Front Lines
“You might think the job of law enforcement is enforcing the law, but that’s not the way some California officers and organizations see it when it comes to the state’s medical cannabis statute. The latest disturbing evidence of this is an upcoming “training luncheon” on “The Eradication of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County,” hosted by the California Narcotic Officers Association (CNOA)...”
Read the entire post with links on the ASA blog.
Download the CNOA invitation from the ASA website.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 4th, 2009
The City of Los Angles may be moving into the final stages of the four-year-old debate about permanent regulations for medical cannabis facilities in the city. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) expects the City Attorney’s office will send recommendations for the final ordinance to the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee later this month. The draft ordinance was prepared by city staff after Councilmember Zine joined advocates in rejecting an ordinance submitted by former City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo in February. That measure regarded all sales of cannabis as illegal, and would have required every collective in the city to close.
Patients and advocates worry that newly-elected City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has yet to make any public comment repudiating his processor’s anti-medical cannabis position. In fact, Trutanich’s Senior Advisor Jane Usher told the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Committee on August 1 that staff in her office could find no legal protection for sales of cannabis, even inside the membership of a legally organized and operated patients’ association.
On August 10, ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford and I joined representatives of the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA) in an unprecedented meeting with Ms. Usher and two of the other top eight managers in Trutanich’s office to discuss regulatory solutions for the city. We presented the staff with a new White Paper published by ASA and GLACA and a draft ordinance based on input from the city’s defunct medical cannabis working group. The White Paper explains the justification for storefront collectives and sales of medicine within their membership. It also makes policy recommendations for the city’s final ordinance. Trutanich’s staff listened attentively and asked hard questions – both good signs, but the outcome is uncertain.
It is possible that Carmen Trutanich will disappoint the medical cannabis community, which rallied around his campaign earlier this year, when he returns recommendations to the PLUM Committee this month. If so, patients and advocates will have to work hard persuade committee members to reject his advice and stay the course on developing sensible regulations for Los Angeles. This is important not just because regulations are proven to reduce crime and complaints in communities, but also because they will finally set some standards in a city that has grappled for too long with how best to regulate access to medicine.
Posted in Medical Marijuana Information | 4 Comments »
