Pubdate: Tue, 9 Jun 2009
Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.dailynews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246
Cited: Los Angeles City Council 
http://lacity.org/lacity/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/index.htm
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

L.A. CITY COUNCIL TO WEIGH FATE OF POT CLINIC OWNERS

The owners of medical marijuana dispensaries that opened under a 
loophole in the city's temporary ban on new clinics will appear 
before the Los Angeles City Council today in the first of a series of 
hearings called to determine whether they can continue to operate.

Council members are also expected to vote to eliminate the loophole 
that allowed nearly 500 dispensaries to open and operate after the 
temporary ban went into effect in the fall of 2007.

Two years ago, the council approved a temporary moratorium on new 
medical marijuana dispensaries. The purpose of the interim ordinance, 
which will expire on Sept. 14, was to give city leaders time to draft 
regulations that limit where and how dispensaries can operate in Los Angeles.

California voters 13 years ago approved Proposition 215, which made 
it legal to sell marijuana to certain patients with a doctor's prescription.

The drug is still considered illegal under federal law, and U.S. Drug 
Enforcement Administration agents have raided dispensaries throughout 
Southern California. However, Attorney General Eric Holder recently 
announced those raids would end.

Clinics that were already established at the time the ban was 
approved had until Nov. 13, 2007, to register with the city. By 
submitting a business tax registration certificate, state seller's 
permit, property lease and proof of insurance, those businesses were 
allowed to remain open.

However, a loophole in the temporary ban allowed clinics to file 
"hardship exemptions," which provide dispensary owners with the 
opportunity to defend why they should continue to do business without 
fulfilling those requirements. Hardship exemptions are considered to 
be a routine part of city ordinances.

"We were not made aware of the consequences of that clause. Now that 
we know, we're taking action to eliminate it," Councilman Ed Reyes, 
chair of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, said last week.

A total of 477 hardship exemption applications have been filed since 
the ban took effect, and none have been heard by the council or its 
Planning and Land Use Management Committee. The first of the hearings 
are slated to take place later this morning.

Councilman Jose Huizar, a member of the planning committee, 
introduced a motion in April, asking the city attorney to strike the 
hardship exemption from the interim ordinance. That motion was 
unanimously approved by the committee.

Of the 477 hardship exemptions filed with the city clerk, 26 are in 
Huizar's 14th District, which includes Boyle Heights, Glassell Park 
and El Sereno.

"While I support the spirit of Proposition 215, it is clear that many 
opportunists are using the city's hardship exemption to make a quick 
buck with little regard to the communities they're operating in," Huizar said.

A spokesman for the city attorney's office said the ban would remain 
legally defensible without the loophole.

The permanent ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries is 
expected to be discussed by the Planning and Land Use Management 
Committee this afternoon. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake