Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jun 2012
Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.dailynews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246

DISPENSARY BUSTS SHOW NEED FOR POT SHOP BAN

JUST hours before the Long Beach City Council was briefed Tuesday 
about crimes at medical marijuana dispensaries, an illegal pot shop 
was busted. That bust came after residents reported criminal and 
other unpleasant activity at the downtown shop.

The next day, Los Angeles police raided two dispensaries in the San 
Fernando Valley that were allegedly making profits on sales of 
marijuana. It was the same week the council was set to consider a ban 
on dispensaries in the city.

If the busts were by coincidence or by design, it hardly matters. 
They illustrate that, despite claims to the contrary, medical 
marijuana dispensaries are often operating far outside of the intent 
of Proposition 215.

City officials pushing for both bans, such as Long Beach Police Chief 
Jim McDonnell and Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, would be 
justified in saying a curt "Told you so" to their municipal 
colleagues. They have been warning for a while that the dispensaries 
are crime magnets.

On Tuesday, for example, McDonnell told the Long Beach City Council 
that 1,200 calls for service, including cases of suspected murder, 
have been reported at all dispensaries still operating in that city - 
most of them illegally.

Somehow, in the face of these facts, the two cities are still 
allowing dispensaries to continue to operate and - evidently - make 
big profits. Though both city councils planned discussions last week 
about the bans, neither took action.

The Los Angeles City Council was supposed to consider voting on 
either a full or partial ban on Friday. But on Friday, the council 
decided to put if off for a month. That's a bad idea considering what 
Long Beach has experienced.

The Long Beach council in February banned dispensaries except for 18 
permitted outlets, allowing them to continue operating for six months 
while the state Supreme Court examined an appeal of a ruling that 
cities couldn't regulate dispensaries. Tuesday, the council heard a 
report about how badly its partial ban on dispensaries is going. 
Councilwoman Rae Gabelich wants to extend the exemption for the 18 
shops. That's a terrible idea.

Instead of extensions or exceptions, both Los Angeles and Long Beach 
should ban all dispensaries until the Supreme County rules on the 
case. If not, they could find themselves permanently stuck with a 
proliferation of problematic dispensaries - and little they can do about it.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom