Pubdate: Wed, 24 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

APP CAN'T DELIVER POT

Judge Says Nestdrop, Which Takes Orders From Customers, Is Violating L.A. Law.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge said Tuesday that Nestdrop, 
a smartphone application that lets customers order medical marijuana, 
must stop delivering pot.

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer filed a court complaint earlier 
this month saying that Nestdrop, which offers alcohol and medical 
marijuana delivery, violates a law that restricts pot shops in Los 
Angeles from taking their product to customers.

Judge Robert O'Brien granted a preliminary injunction against the 
company Tuesday to stop the pot deliveries.

Nestdrop co-founder Michael Pycher said the company would appeal the 
judge's decision, and will continue alcohol deliveries.

"We don't believe that they truly understand what Nestdrop is; we're 
simply a communication technology," Pycher said after the ruling.

Nestdrop launched in Los Angeles earlier this year, marketing itself 
as the country's first app-based, on-demand medical marijuana 
delivery service. Customers can use the app on their smartphone to 
request weed that is delivered to their doorstep.

Feuer says Nestdrop's service violates Proposition D, a measure 
passed by voters last year to regulate pot shops with the aim of 
reducing their numbers. Under that law, delivery is "simply not 
permitted," Feuer says.

Pycher, however, says the company is not subject to Proposition D 
regulations because it doesn't handle or distribute the marijuana itself.

The app connects patients to collectives, whose workers deliver the 
marijuana, he said.

Feuer said that amounts to aiding and abetting illegal activity, 
which the judge agreed with Tuesday when he granted his injunction.

Aaron Lachant, an attorney whose firm helped the city write 
Proposition D, said he wasn't surprised by Tuesday's ruling.

"Proposition D explicitly prohibits delivery service," he said.

Though the app itself may not necessarily be illegal, he said, 
"Nestdrop was basically facilitating violations of Proposition D."

A simple Internet search reveals hundreds of marijuana delivery 
services across Southern California.

Lachant said the city attorney may have decided to target Nestdrop 
because it would be much harder to go after each individual delivery service.

When asked Tuesday about other marijuana delivery services in the 
city, Feuer would say only that his office had other investigations underway.

As for Nestdrop, Pycher said the firm would continue with their plans 
to expand to other cities. He said that the app now has tens of 
thousands of users and that the legal action had actually drawn 
attention to the company.

The company is testing the app in San Francisco and is planning to 
expand into San Jose and Oakland soon.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom