The City Is Targeting Nine Stores That Are Within 600 Schools, Persues Penalties Los Angeles has sued nine medical marijuana dispensaries to force them to close immediately and permanently, even as more boldly open throughout the city, often in prominent locations. With hundreds of dispensaries in L.A., City Atty. Carmen Trutanich decided to target those within 600 feet of a school, a violation of state law. The city is seeking civil penalties of up to $5,000 a day if the dispensaries defy the lawsuits and remain open. [continues 383 words]
Legal Challenges Are Aimed at Halting the Closure of Dispensaries in California Medical marijuana advocates have filed lawsuits in California's four federal judicial districts aimed at quickly winning court orders to halt the U.S. attorneys from closing dispensaries. The lawsuits are the second legal challenge to the stepped-up enforcement efforts that the four prosecutors announced last month at a high-profile joint news conference in Sacramento. Matt Kumin, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuits, said that Tuesday the plaintiffs plan to ask the judges assigned to the cases for temporary restraining orders halting the crackdown. [continues 524 words]
A Controversial Study That Linked Outlets to a Drop in Crime Rates Was Deleted From the Think Tank's Website After Sharp Criticism. Rand Corp.'s website has removed a controversial study that suggested medical marijuana dispensaries may help reduce crime in their neighborhoods, a decision that came almost three weeks after enraged Los Angeles city attorneys slammed the report and demanded an immediate retraction. Warren Robak, a spokesman for the Santa Monica-based think tank, said Tuesday, "As we've begun to take a look at the report, we decided it's best to remove it from circulation until that review is complete." [continues 500 words]
LOS ANGELES -- Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation's capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin. The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. [continues 727 words]
Marijuana Activists, Angry Over L.A.'s Attempts to Limit Dispensaries, Are Opposing Measure M. When Oakland's voters slapped the nation's first tax on marijuana sales a year and a half ago, the city's dispensaries backed the ballot measure, pushing it as a way to be seen as legitimate businesses. And when voters in 10 California cities decided on pot taxes in November, the elections were largely uncontroversial. The taxes all passed by more than two-thirds. But in Los Angeles, where voters decide Tuesday whether to create a pot tax, medical marijuana activists who once urged City Hall to tax and regulate them are hoping to defeat the proposal, angered by the council's decision to limit the number of dispensaries to 100 and choose them by lottery. [continues 1115 words]
Prop. 19 Lost Support of Some Pro-Marijuana Groups. Its Backers Aim to Write an Initiative With Wider Appeal. The drive to put another marijuana legalization initiative on the California ballot took a step forward Saturday when activists from across the state squeezed into a crowded conference center here to launch the debate over writing the next ballot measure. The campaign for Proposition 19, which lost 54% to 46% in November, wants to start drafting a new initiative in the spring and to complete it by July, turning then to the expensive and time-consuming task of building support and qualifying it for the November 2012 ballot. [continues 734 words]
City Officials Decide to Use a Lottery to Limit the Number of Dispensaries to 100. The Los Angeles City Council, fearing that it risked a return to the days when medical marijuana dispensaries were opening at an astonishing clip, amended its medical marijuana ordinance Friday to alter key provisions that a judge declared unconstitutional last month. In a significant change, the ordinance sets up a different process to limit the number of dispensaries. A lottery will choose 100 from among those dispensaries that can prove they were in existence on Sept. 14, 2007, the date the city's moratorium on new stores took effect. [continues 649 words]
L.A. Sought the Action As the Council Works on Amending Law to Determine Which Sites Can Sell Marijuana. The judge who declared that key parts of Los Angeles' medical marijuana ordinance are unconstitutional refused to stay his injunction Friday as the City Council works on an amended version, and he rebuffed the city's request for advice on how to rewrite the law. "I don't want to legislate. I'm not the City Council," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr said at a hearing. "I really think I'm going to decline that invitation." [continues 507 words]
City Officials Race to Fix Legal Flaws Before New Marijuana Dispensaries Can Open. A judge handed Los Angeles a setback in its faltering drive to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, granting a preliminary injunction on Friday that bars the city from enforcing key provisions in its controversial six-month-old ordinance. The decision, issued by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr, leaves the city with limited power to control pot stores, which opened by the hundreds, angering neighborhood activists when city officials failed to enforce a 2007 moratorium. [continues 724 words]
LOS ANGELES - Despite Proposition 19's loss at the polls this month, marijuana-legalization advocates in California are already working on their comeback plan for 2012 and are almost giddy about their prospects. They see the election as a trial run that could lead to a campaign with a better message, a tighter measure and more money. Both the winning and losing sides say California's voters rejected this specific initiative but remain open to legalizing the easily obtainable drug. The proponents have a huge head start compared with where they were two years ago. At that time, regulating and taxing marijuana was the dream of a handful of Oakland activists. [continues 941 words]
Paul Koretz Backs a 180-Day Delay for Dispensaries to Comply With Rules. With its medical marijuana ordinance snared in prolonged court proceedings, the Los Angeles City Council is moving to extend the amount of time dispensaries will have to comply with it and to change a controversial provision that would have required all but 41 to close down. Since the city realized that hundreds of dispensaries had opened despite a moratorium adopted in 2007, it has struggled to regain control. Scores of dispensaries have sued to invalidate the ordinance, and a Superior Court judge is expected to issue a ruling early next month on many of their claims. [continues 374 words]
Supporters of Pot Legalization See This Year's Campaign As a Trial Run That, If Retooled, Could Win Voter Approval in '12. Despite Proposition 19's loss at the polls last week, marijuana legalization advocates in California are already working on their comeback plan for 2012 and are almost giddy about their prospects. They see the election as a trial run that could lead to a campaign with a better message, a tighter measure and more money. Both the winning and losing sides say California's voters rejected this specific initiative, but remain open to legalizing the easily obtainable drug. [continues 960 words]
Groundwork Is Being Laid for Another Ballot Initiative in Two Years After 54%-46% Loss. Supporters of legalizing marijuana in California spent the day after the election laying the groundwork to rebound from their 54%-to-46% defeat and return to the ballot in two years. "We have a debate that was just heard around the world, and the conversation has only just begun," said Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for the Proposition 19 campaign. Although California voters did not buy the argument that marijuana should be legalized like alcohol, many agreed that it should be taxed like it. Voters in 10 cities overwhelmingly approved taxes on sales of medical and recreational pot. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council instructed the city attorney to draft a measure for the March ballot that would ask voters to approve a tax on medical marijuana. [continues 371 words]
California Would Have Become the First State to Allow Marijuana to Be Sold for Recreational Use. After taking a serious look at legalizing marijuana, Californians voted Tuesday to reject Proposition 19, which would have made the state the first to allow the drug to be sold for recreational use. The measure drew strong support from voters younger than 25, as the campaign had hoped, but those voters did not turn out in unusually high numbers, according to a state exit poll. The initiative also failed to win over the moderate voters who make up the state's decisive swing vote. [continues 713 words]
Opponents of Proposition 19, arrayed in front of the Glendale Police Department, denounced the marijuana legalization measure Friday, charging it would lead to more stoned Californians and make schools, businesses and roads less safe. "Proposition 19 is a dangerous experiment based on false arguments and fake promises," said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), co-chairwoman of the opposition campaign who headlined the event. Feinstein, who also opposed the 1996 initiative that allowed marijuana to be used for medical reasons, said passing Proposition 19 would tell California's children there is nothing wrong with smoking marijuana. [continues 273 words]
California's marijuana legalization campaign, which has struggled to raise money despite the intense nationwide focus on the issue, was jolted Tuesday when a multibillionaire investor with a long interest in loosening drug laws endorsed Proposition 19 and donated $1 million. The contribution triples the amount of money that legalization advocates have to spend in the final week before the Nov. 2 election and dwarfs the $317,500 that the California Chamber of Commerce has spent on radio ads in Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego against the initiative. [continues 475 words]
Both Sides of the Marijuana Campaign Get New Infusions of Cash for the Final Week Before the Election. The battle over Proposition 19 has shifted to television sets and radios for the final week of the campaign, as both sides benefit from recent support from major financial backers. On Monday, George Soros, a multibillionaire investor who spent $3 million on earlier initiatives to change California's drug laws, endorsed the measure. "He plans to make a significant contribution," said Michael Vachon, an advisor to the philanthropist and hedge-fund chairman. [continues 415 words]
Proposition 19 Raises a Lot of Questions About Logistics, Legality and Tax Revenues. Vote yes on Proposition 19, the measure to legalize marijuana, and the unofficial state weed and largest cash crop will be controlled like alcohol, police will focus on serious crimes and California will get billions of dollars in new taxes. That's the pitch proponents make. "It's a jumbled legal nightmare," opponents retort, disputing those claims and insisting that the measure would lead to stoned nurses in hospitals, drugged motorists on the road and more high teenagers. [continues 1406 words]
In Other Results, Cooley and Newsom Hold Slim Leads for Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor. California's marijuana legalization ballot initiative, Proposition 19, is trailing badly, according to a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll, which found likely voters opposing it 51% to 39%. In the race for attorney general, Republican Steve Cooley holds a narrow lead over his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, is aided greatly by voter support on his usually Democratic home turf. In the survey, Cooley held a 42%-33% advantage among likely voters in Los Angeles County. Statewide, he had a 40%-35% edge among likely voters over Harris, who is the San Francisco district attorney. [continues 1037 words]
U.S. Official Says Pot Legalization Is Not the Right Response to the Drug War's Failure. The nation's drug czar traveled to California to highlight his contention that legalizing marijuana is not the answer to a drug war he acknowledged has not succeeded. Instead, Gil Kerlikowske stressed what he called a middle way: increased prevention and treatment. Kerlikowske's stated reason for the drop-in visit Wednesday was an invitation from the Pasadena Recovery Center to participate in a round-table with drug treatment specialists that lasted less than half an hour. Before the event, he spoke to the media about his opposition to Proposition 19. [continues 404 words]
Marijuana Measures Has Generated Talk - Especially Amoung Students - but No Major TV Ad Buys. Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana in California, is the most talked-about ballot initiative in the country. If it passes, it would revolutionize the state's drug laws, provoke a clash with the federal government and fire up the movement to pass similar laws in other states - even other countries. It's become a staple for national talk shows and comedians. But the high-profile issue is playing out in a surprisingly low-profile campaign. With the competitive top-of-the-ticket races siphoning away the big bucks, neither side has attracted the money to mount a serious TV ad campaign, the most effective way to reach the state's 17 million voters. [continues 1595 words]
U.S. Will Enforce Drug Laws Even If State Measure Passes, Attorney General Says. Stepping up the Obama administration's opposition to Proposition 19, the nation's top law enforcement official promised to "vigorously enforce" federal drug laws against Californians who grow or sell marijuana for recreational use even if voters pass the legalization measure. U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder's response to the initiative comes as the administration has been under pressure to campaign against it more forcefully. Last week, Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, chided the Obama administration for not doing enough to defeat it. And last month, nine former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration publicly urged Holder to speak out. [continues 1042 words]
Report Says Legalizing Pot in California Will Not Seriously Curtail Mexican Gang Profits. Proposition 19, which would partially legalize marijuana in California, would do little to curtail the violent Mexican organizations that smuggle it across the border, according to a new study by drug policy researchers that takes aim at one of the main arguments proponents have made for the initiative. The report released Tuesday by Rand Corp., the nonpartisan research institute in Santa Monica, estimates that legalized marijuana could displace the Mexican marijuana sold in California, but concludes that would erase no more than 2% to 4% of the revenues the gangs receive from drug exports. [continues 722 words]
Amid a Hazy Maze of Federal, State and Local Rules, Richard Lee Has Become a Marijuana Millionaire and Major Voice for Legalization. Richard Lee rolled his wheelchair up the ramp and glided onstage, steering himself to a table draped in a green cloth with "Oaksterdam University" spelled out in gold, varsity-sweater letters. The founder of the nation's first marijuana trade school was there to deliver a few inspirational words to about 70 students hoping to become the next Richard Lee, an entrepreneur who says his medical marijuana dispensary, nursery and other pot-related businesses bring in as much as $7 million a year. [continues 2117 words]
Owners and Patients Rally at City Hall After 75% or Registered Stores Are Disqualified Incensed by the city's determination that just a quarter of the registered Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries are qualified to remain open, about 80 operators and advocates held a subdued rally Tuesday and then trooped into City Hall to demand that the council intervene. The protest's only speaker was Don Duncan, a Los Angeles resident who is the state director for Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy organization. Standing on a planter next to placards that went unused and donuts that went uneaten, he exhorted those in the small assembly to call their City Council members. [continues 594 words]
A medical marijuana dispensary that Los Angeles was seeking to shut down under its three-month-old ordinance has won a court order allowing it to stay open, the first ruling from a local judge to favor one of the hundreds of stores affected by the new law. On Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr granted a temporary restraining order to allow DTPG to stay in business pending another hearing. Alfred Garcia, who started the downtown collective, said DTPG opened before the city had medical marijuana laws and has complied with every requirement it has adopted. The decision applies only to DTPG and is unlikely to change the situation for most of the hundreds of dispensaries the city has ordered to shut down. [end]
It Seeks to Shut Those Whose Management Has Changed for Any Reason Since 2007 When the Los Angeles City Council adopted its medical marijuana ordinance, it aimed to rout unscrupulous dispensary operators whose unruly customers irritated residents and operators who opened up willy-nilly across the city, ignoring a ban on new stores. But the ordinance has snared operators who appear to have tried hard to adhere to state law and the city's rules. Among them are some of the most politically active operators whose dispensaries are considered model operations. Last week, the city sued these dispensaries and dozens of others and asked a judge to rule that they could be shut down. [continues 1088 words]
Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative, picked up the support Thursday of a national organization that represents African American police officers, as the campaign for legalization continues to seek backing in the black community and from law enforcement officials. The National Black Police Assn., with about 15,000 members, is the second African American organization to back the measure. The California NAACP has also endorsed it, citing the disproportionate number of arrests and incarcerations of African Americans caught with marijuana. Ron Hampton, the police association's executive director, said he decided the group should back the measure because it would eliminate laws that have a negative effect on the black community. "It means that we will be locking up less African American men and women and children who are using drugs," said Hampton, a retired Washington, D.C., police officer with 25 years experience. [end]
A state appeals court Wednesday declined to decide whether California's medical marijuana laws prevent cities and counties from outlawing dispensaries, sending the closely watched dispute over Anaheim's 3-year-old ban back to the lower court for more hearings. Cities and dispensaries had been anxiously anticipating a major decision because the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana had asked for additional information and took an unusually long time to reach a ruling: a year rather than the usual three months. [continues 389 words]
Proposition 19 Has Fewer Big-Money Supporters Than Past Initiatives Two years ago, when Californians were voting on an initiative that would have trimmed prison time for nonviolent drug offenders, Bob Wilson, a wealthy New York City investor, spent $$2.8 million on the ultimately unsuccessful campaign to get it passed. Wilson would seem a likely sugar daddy for Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot. He has been giving away much of his fortune, more than $$500 million so far, and he believes that pot, which he tried but didn't much like, ought to be legal. [continues 1108 words]
The Ordinance Calls for the City to Closely Supervise the New Operations Oakland's City Council approved an ordinance late Tuesday night that could make it the first city in the state to permit industrial marijuana production, a groundbreaking decision that is likely to spur the increased commercialization of a crop now largely grown in hidden gardens. "This is a monumental step forward," said Dale Gieringer, an Oakland resident and the longtime head of California NORML, which backs the legalization of marijuana. "It really means moving into the era of industrial-scale operations, and Oakland means to do it big." [continues 269 words]
The City Could OK a Plan to Set Up Four Marijuana Factories Oakland could approve a plan Tuesday to set up four marijuana factory farms, a step that could usher in the era of Big Pot. The proposal is a testament to just how fast the marijuana counterculture is transforming into a corporate culture. And it has ignited a contentious debate in Oakland that could spread as cities face pressure to regulate marijuana cultivation and find ways to tax it. "Everybody knows it's going bigger and big money is moving in," said Dale Gieringer, an Oakland resident and prominent marijuana activist. As the state edges toward legalization, he said, more businessmen will seek to capitalize on a fast-growing market in a recession-hindered economy, forcing cities to make difficult choices on how to exert control. [continues 1191 words]
Mindful of Other Races, the State Party Decides Not to Endorse Prop. 19. The state Democratic Party decided Sunday not to endorse the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot after a swift, passionate debate that left little doubt most Democrats in the hotel meeting room intend to vote yes at the polls. The party decided to adopt a neutral position on Proposition 19, leaving the many local Democratic committees and organizations free to endorse the measure. Advocates for an endorsement cited many reasons to back the initiative, but opponents pressed one overriding concern: a yes vote could damage statewide candidates in competitive races. [continues 406 words]
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Endorses Proposition 19 Proponents of the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot won the endorsement Wednesday of the council that oversees the political work of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union in California, as well as one of the union's major locals, giving proponents a significant boost to their campaign. They also had hoped to win the endorsement of the California Labor Federation, which met this week in San Diego, but decided not to press for a vote and settled instead on persuading the powerful organization to remain neutral -- which it did. [continues 347 words]
She Calls the November Ballot Initiative 'A Jumbled Legal Nightmare.' Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California's senior U.S. senator, has lent her support to the campaign to defeat Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization measure on the state's November ballot. The prominent Democrat, first elected to the Senate in 1992, signed the ballot argument against the initiative. On Monday, she issued a statement through the opposition campaign calling the measure "a jumbled legal nightmare that will make our highways, our workplaces and our communities less safe." [continues 341 words]
In Contrast to Earlier Results, Survey Finds That 48% of Likely Voters Are Against Prop. 19 Californians who intend to vote in November narrowly oppose Proposition 19, which would make the state the first to legalize marijuana possession and sales, according to a recent survey. The Field Poll found that 48% of likely voters oppose the measure and 44% support it, a contrast with two polls taken in May that showed voters were leaning slightly in favor of the measure. "History suggests that chances aren't good when you start out behind," said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the poll. But he said the results were close enough that the measure has a chance to win. "It depends on the quality of the campaign." [continues 459 words]
Cost Could Drop to $38 Per Ounce If Proposition 19 Passes, Study Finds. California's cash crop could become dirt cheap if the state legalizes marijuana. Researchers associated with the Rand Corp.'s Drug Policy Research Center said Wednesday that not much is certain about the potential impact of Proposition 19 except that the price of California's choicest weed could plunge more than 80%, down from $300 to $450 per ounce to about $38. "That's a significant drop," said Beau Kilmer, co-director of the center. "We're very clear about the fact that the price will go down." [continues 639 words]
Worried that unincorporated Los Angeles County could increasingly be favored by medical marijuana dispensaries excluded from other areas, Supervisor Mike Antonovich on Tuesday proposed a ban on the outlets, which would reverse a four-year-old county policy. Aides to Antonovich noted that many cities in the county have banned dispensaries or imposed moratoriums and the city of Los Angeles is trying to shut down about 400. The supervisor's office has received at least a dozen inquiries from Los Angeles dispensaries looking to move to the county. [continues 276 words]
49% Support a State Ballot Measure. Of the 41% Who Oppose It, Most Believe It Will Worsen Social Ills. California voters, by a modest margin, think they should be allowed to grow and consume marijuana, according to a new poll that also found more than 1 in 3 voters had tried pot and more than 1 in 10 had lit up in the past year. The Los Angeles Times/USC poll found that voters back the marijuana legalization measure on the November ballot, 49% to 41%, with 10% uncertain about it. But support for the initiative is unstable, with one-third of the supporters saying they favor it only "somewhat." [continues 962 words]
L.A. Sends Letters to 439 Dispensaries Giving Operators Until June 7 to Shut Down Los Angeles city prosecutors began notifying 439 medical marijuana dispensaries Tuesday that they must shut down by June 7, when the city's ordinance to regulate the stores takes effect. It's the first step in what could be a lengthy and expensive legal battle to regain control over pot sales. The letters, which were sent to both dispensary operators and property owners, warn that violations of the city's laws are a misdemeanor and could lead to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Collectives that stay open after the deadline could also face civil penalties of $2,500 a day. [continues 684 words]
Proselytizer for Legal Pot Jack Herer, an energetic advocate for marijuana legalization who was a mesmerizing presence on the Venice Boardwalk and achieved worldwide renown after he wrote a treatise extolling the virtues of hemp, died April 15. He was 70. Herer suffered a debilitating heart attack in September, minutes after he delivered a typically pugnacious pro-pot speech at the Hempstalk festival in Portland, Ore., insisting that marijuana ought to be smoked morning, noon and night. "You've got to be out of your mind not to smoke dope," shouted Herer, dressed in a green short-sleeved shirt and shorts made from hemp. "It is the best thing the world has ever had." [continues 809 words]
The Jazz Age Hotel Normandie Reopens As a Marijuana Destination The Hotel Normandie, a stoic brick building weighing down a corner of Normandie Avenue and 6th Street, opened in the Roaring '20s as an elegant residence, promising in tasteful advertisements to "leave nothing to be desired by the most experienced and exacting." Tuesday night, the hotel will host another grand opening, for a very different, experienced and exacting clientele: pot smokers. The aging Koreatown edifice has been rechristened Dennis Peron's Normandie Hotel, and the late-night event was timed for April 20, the annual day of celebration for cannabis worshippers worldwide. [continues 1017 words]
In a Preliminary Order Against a Venice-Area Outlet, Judge Says State Law Does Not Allow Sales by Collectives In a second ruling against a medical marijuana dispensary, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday that bars a popular Venice-area outlet from selling or distributing the drug at its sprawling store on Washington Boulevard. The decision by Judge James C. Chalfant could embolden city prosecutors to seek more court orders to close dispensaries as they try to find the most efficient way to reduce the number in Los Angeles. As he did in a previous case, Chalfant concluded that the state's medical marijuana laws do not allow collectives to sell cannabis. [continues 716 words]
The Radio Spot Features an Ex-L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Who Says That the Fight Against the Drug Has Led to Cartels The campaign to legalize marijuana in California kicked off this week, just days after the initiative made the ballot, with a radio ad saying many law enforcement professionals know marijuana laws have failed and calling the measure "a common sense solution." The ad features Jeffrey Studdard, a former school district police officer and reserve L.A. County sheriff's deputy. Studdard says that he has "seen firsthand that the current approach on cannabis is simply not working," explaining that the fight against marijuana has led to "violent drug cartels" and "dealers in our schools and our streets" without reducing consumption. [continues 371 words]
Measure to Legalize Marijuana Again Puts State at Front of the Nation's Drug Debate An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation's debate over whether to soften drug laws. The number of valid signatures reported by Los Angeles County, submitted minutes before Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline, put the measure well beyond the 433,971 it needed to be certified. Supporters turned in 694,248 signatures, collecting them in every county except Alpine. County election officials estimated that 523,531 were valid. [continues 693 words]
Voters Could Weigh in on Initiative This Fall. Fiscal Crisis May Help It Pass, Some Say. Fourteen years after California decided marijuana could be used as a medicine and ignited a national movement, the state is likely to vote on whether to take another step into the vanguard of drug liberalization: legalizing the controversial weed for fun and profit. On Wednesday, Los Angeles County elections officials must turn in their count of valid signatures collected in the county on a statewide legalization initiative. The number is virtually certain to be enough to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, according to a tally kept by state election officials. [continues 1077 words]
Dispensary Operators Gather Signatures for a Referendum to Block the City's Ordinance Seeking to overturn the city's medical marijuana ordinance even before it takes effect, a loose-knit coalition of Los Angeles collectives is quietly gathering signatures to force a referendum on the law. The scrappy, largely volunteer effort faces a Monday deadline to turn in 27,425 valid signatures. "We're getting down to the wire here," said Dan Halbert, who runs Rainforest Collective in Mar Vista and has coordinated the campaign. "It's going to be close." [continues 886 words]
Attorney for Medical Marijuana Distributor Says the Felony Counts Are 'Politically Driven.' More than four months ago, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley warned that state law does not allow dispensaries to sell medical marijuana and zeroed in on Organica, a popular Venice-area outlet, as one possible target. On Monday, Cooley delivered on that promise. Jeff Joseph, Organica's operator, was charged with 24 felonies, including selling, transporting and possessing marijuana, and a court commissioner set bail at $520,000, more than five times the amount his lawyer requested. Joseph pleaded not guilty. [continues 493 words]
City Sues Three Collectives and Moves to Evict 18 Others From Their Stores, Saying They've Violated State Laws Los Angeles city prosecutors Thursday escalated their efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries, suing three collectives and moving to evict 18 others from their stores. The actions, which stem from undercover police operations at the dispensaries, follow City Atty. Carmen Trutanich's pledge to take aggressive steps to reverse the rapid spread of pot shops. Hundreds have opened while the City Council debated an ordinance to regulate them. The council passed the law last month, but it has not taken effect. [continues 579 words]
Cannabis Can Greatly Ease Neuropathic Pain and Muscle Spasms, Researchers Show With an innovative but little-known state program to study medical marijuana about to run out of money, researchers and political supporters said Wednesday the results show promise. "It should take all the mystery out of whether it works. We've got the results," said former state Sen. John Vasconcellos, who led the effort to create the 10-year-old Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. The center has nearly spent its $8.7-million allocation, sponsoring 14 studies at UC campuses, including the first clinical trials of smoked marijuana in the United States in more than two decades. [continues 521 words]
