Pubdate: Fri, 04 Jan 2013
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Kate Linthicum
Page: AA3

L.A. BALLOT TO HAVE INITIATIVE ON POT SHOPS

The Development Is Likely to Make Such Facilities an Issue in the Mayoral Race.

Prospects that the emotional debate over medical marijuana 
dispensaries will bleed into the Los Angeles' mayoral race increased 
sharply this week when an initiative to keep some pot shops open 
qualified for the ballot.

The measure was certified as eligible to appear on the ballot late 
Wednesday after officials determined that its supporters had 
collected the required 41,138 valid signatures. The City Council has 
until the end of the month to enact the proposed ordinance, call a 
special election or place it before voters in the May 21 election.

A second initiative that would allow an even larger number of pot 
shops is being vetted by city officials and could appear on the same ballot.

The proposals are putting lawmakers in an awkward - if familiar - position.

Last fall, the council reluctantly agreed to reverse its ban on 
storefront sales of medical pot after activists gathered enough 
signatures to place a repeal of the law on the March primary ballot, 
when voters will choose candidates for mayor, city attorney, city 
controller and eight council seats.

Since overturning the pot shop ban, lawmakers have been slow to craft 
a new policy regulating marijuana sales. City Councilman Paul Koretz 
said Thursday that the new ballot drives have "forced our hand."

"We need to express an opinion one way or the other," he said. The 
councilman said he hopes the council can reach an agreement with the 
group that has qualified its measure for the ballot, noting that the 
proposal would permit only about 100 dispensaries to remain open.

The dueling measures highlight a new, more organized political 
approach by the medical marijuana industry.

They also have exposed a growing rift among pot shop owners that 
could pit opposing factions against each other in a costly battle at 
the ballot box.

The clash is largely over market share and has its roots in a 
short-lived 2007 city moratorium on new dispensaries. Shops that 
registered with the city before the moratorium took effect want to 
preserve their businesses and ban dispensaries that opened later - 
using the measure that qualified Wednesday to do so. The measure is 
backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which last 
year began organizing workers at dozens of the city's older dispensaries.

The rival measure, which is still under review by election officials, 
is supported mostly by dispensaries that opened after 2007. It would 
establish permit procedures and allow any dispensary that meets 
certain requirements - including keeping a specified distance from 
schools and parks and limiting hours. The measure would also raise 
taxes on medical marijuana sales by 20% to help pay for city regulation.

David Welch, an attorney for the group that wants to permit more 
shops, said dispensary operators who are trying to limit permits 
"want to create a small monopoly for themselves."

But Rick Icaza, the president of the union backing the more 
restrictive ballot measure, said the public isn't ready for the 
larger number of dispensaries that could be approved under the 
competing measure.

"Our initiative is something that would be more desirable for the 
community," he said.

Icaza said he hopes the City Council will adopt his group's proposal 
and avoid an election fight. But he said he will leverage his union's 
33,000 members and the support of the powerful Los Angeles County 
Federation of Labor to win support for the initiative if necessary. 
"We can muster up the troops," he said.

Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a national 
medical marijuana advocacy group, said the organization would support 
whichever initiative shows the greatest likelihood of success. Until 
now, his group has supported the union-backed coalition of older dispensaries.

"We want to maintain the best possible scenario for patients in Los 
Angeles," he said. "That could be through the City Council or through 
one of these measures. Frankly, we see either one as a movement in 
the right direction."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom