Pubdate: Sun, 21 Feb 2016
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Ben Poston

CITY SUES TO PUT BRAKES ON POT DELIVERY FIRM

The Los Angeles city attorney's office has sued to stop a popular 
marijuana delivery service from operating in the city, according to 
court records.

Cosmic Mind, a corporation doing business as Speed Weed since 2014, 
delivers marijuana to an estimated 25,000 customers and has violated 
the restrictions of Proposition D, the lawsuit alleges.

Under the measure passed in 2013, dispensaries and their landlords 
can be prosecuted if the shops aren't properly registered or if they 
fail to operate a legal distance from public parks, schools, 
child-care centers and other facilities.

Proposition D does not provide immunity from enforcement for a 
medical marijuana business made of a vehicle that is transporting, 
delivering or distributing medical marijuana, the city attorney's 
office said in a news release.

"Marijuana delivery services circumvent the will of the voters who 
passed Proposition D," City Atty. Mike Feuer said. "My office will 
continue to ensure that only qualified patients, and primary 
caregivers, can transport medical marijuana."

More than 700 pot shops have closed in Los Angeles since voters 
approved Proposition D, according to the city attorney's office.

City prosecutors have also f iled 365 criminal cases against more 
than 1,400 defendants.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting the further operation of 
Speed Weed, including civil penalties of up to $ 5,000 for each day 
it's in violation.

Attempts to reach representatives from Cosmic Mind were unsuccessful.

In a 2014 interview with The Times, Cosmic Mind owner Andrew Gentile 
said he paid business taxes and was operating legally under 
Proposition D. Speed Weed didn't have a storefront subject to the 
measure's zoning rules, Gentile said then.

Gentile said he hoped to one day franchise Speed Weed wherever 
medical marijuana is allowed.

The company was founded in 2011 after Gentile studied operation 
manuals for Domino's Pizza, Papa John's Pizza and FedEx. He learned 
how to build a network of hubs to limit the amount of marijuana or 
cash that any one driver carries, a precaution against robbery, he 
told The Times.

The company's delivery area stretched across 6,000 square miles, 
including all of L. A. County and the northern half of Orange County, 
Gentile said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom