Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2012
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248

L.A.'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA MESS

Despite Much Hand-Wringing, the City's Latest Pot Ban Will Do Little 
to Settle the Issue.

The Los Angeles City Council is plainly out of its depth when it 
comes to regulating medical marijuana. This was already clear after 
years of fumbling and court-delayed attempts to limit the number or 
locations of cannabis dispensaries, but it became painfully obvious 
Tuesday when the council approved a ban on all dispensaries - along 
with a separate motion to draft an ordinance that would allow 
well-established pot shops to stay open, partially defeating the 
council's own purpose.

Not that we can really blame the council for being confused. We're 
confused about how to legally restrict a quasi-legal business too. 
For that matter, so is the entire state of California. And that's 
causing even bigger problems than usual as the federal government, 
which considers marijuana an illegal drug, has begun a series of 
raids on California pot outlets.

Is L.A.'s new ban even legal? There's no clear answer to that 
question, but a recent court ruling suggests that it isn't. After Los 
Angeles County imposed a blanket ban on pot distribution in 
unincorporated areas in December 2010, it was challenged by a Covina 
collective, which won a key victory this month in the state's 2nd 
District Court of Appeal. Writing for the three-justice panel, 
Justice Robert Mallano said the county's ban was preempted by state 
law and contradicted the intent of the Legislature.

Of course, it isn't that simple. The Los Angeles County ban would 
have closed all distribution outlets, whereas the city of L.A.'s ban 
would allow small collectives with three or fewer members to stay 
open. The city's lawyers say that key difference should persuade the 
courts to approve L.A.'s "gentle ban," and as ammunition they point 
to a separate ruling by a different 2nd District Court justice that 
suggested the city's approach would neither constitute a true ban nor 
violate state law.

If thinking about all that isn't enough to give you a migraine - 
which, on the plus side, is enough justification to get a medical 
recommendation for a dose of cannabis in California - there is the 
added complication that could arise if the City Council goes ahead 
with the separate ordinance to allow certain dispensaries to stay 
open. Specifically, Councilman Paul Koretz called Tuesday for staff 
to draw up a draft that would grant immunity from the ban to those 
facilities that were in place before a 2007 city moratorium on new 
dispensaries was approved. This brings up unhappy memories of L.A.'s 
years-long attempts to regulate billboards, when strict regulatory 
ordinances were undermined by council members carving out exemptions 
for certain signs in their districts. Courts tend to take a dim view 
of that kind of favoritism.

So let's review: L.A. has banned all but the tiniest marijuana 
collectives. When it attempts to enforce this ban, it will be sued. 
Action will be delayed for months, or quite possibly until the state 
Supreme Court weighs in on a series of marijuana cases next year. 
Mission accomplished?
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom