Pubdate: Wed, 03 Dec 2014
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Soumya Karlamangla

FEUER TAKES AIM AT POT APP

City Attorney Is Trying to Shut Down Nestdrop, Which Provides 
Delivery of Medical Marijuana.

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer said Tuesday that he is trying to 
shut down Nestdrop, a smartphone application that allows customers to 
order medical marijuana to be delivered to their door.

The app, which can also direct a driver to deliver alcohol, expanded 
to medical marijuana earlier this year. Nestdrop markets itself as 
the first app-based, on-demand medical marijuana delivery service in 
the country.

Feuer filed a court complaint Tuesday seeking a preliminary 
injunction against the company. The lawsuit alleges that Nestdrop's 
service makes a "flagrant attempt to evade the restrictions on the 
unregulated and illegal delivery of marijuana by motor vehicles."

Feuer said Tuesday that Nestdrop cannot operate under Proposition D, 
a citywide measure passed by voters last year. It prohibits the 
operation of pot shops unless they meet several requirements, 
including being registered under past city ordinances and operating 
an adequate distance from public parks, schools and other facilities. 
Feuer's lawsuit says those exemptions that allow storefronts to 
continue to stay open don't apply to "a medical marijuana business 
comprised of a vehicle that is transporting, delivering or 
distributing medical marijuana."

In a statement to The Times, Nestdrop co-founder Michael Pycher said 
he would fight the request for injunction. He said the company is 
"not a dispensary, collective, grower or even a delivery service."

"Nestdrop is the technology platform that connects law abiding 
medical marijuana patients with local dispensaries to receive the 
medication that they need in a safe and secure manner," he said.

Feuer said that there would be no consequences for people who have 
used Nestdrop's app. When asked if the company could continue 
operating while waiting for a decision from the court, Feuer said, 
"at their peril."

"They cannot deliver medical marijuana within the city of L.A. 
period," he said.

Hundreds of such delivery services exist across Southern California. 
Feuer's staff said they have other investigations underway.

Feuer also announced Tuesday that he has overseen the closure of 402 
medical marijuana dispensaries, about half of those existing when he 
took office less than a year and a half ago.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom