Marijuana shops in LA set to be banned
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
UNABLE to rein in hundreds of medical pot shops that blossomed around Los Angeles, the second biggest city in the United States, lawmakers voted on Tuesday to ban them until the state's highest court weighs in.
The 14-0 vote drew an angry, profanity-laced response from some medical marijuana advocates who attended the council meeting.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was prepared to sign the ordinance, his spokeswoman Vicki Curry said. The storefront ban would then go into effect after 30 days. In the interim, letters will be sent to as many as 900 dispensaries advising them of the ban.
The city has fumbled with its medical marijuana laws for years, trying to provide safe and affordable access to the drug for legitimate patients while addressing worries by neighborhood groups that streets were being overrun by dispensaries and pot users. "Relief is on the way," said Councilman Jose Huizar, who introduced the so-called "gentle ban."
Many cities have struggled with medical marijuana ordinances, but none has had a bigger problem than Los Angeles, where pot shops have proliferated. At one point, the city ordered closure of the shops - a process that failed amid lawsuits and conflicting rulings by appellate courts. This time around the city has a stronger case if faced with lawsuits by pot shop owners, city officials said. A recent appellate court ruling seems to support the new ordinance that refers to a marijuana collective as three or fewer people.
The ban also allows hospices and home health agencies to provide medical pot.
The 14-0 vote drew an angry, profanity-laced response from some medical marijuana advocates who attended the council meeting.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was prepared to sign the ordinance, his spokeswoman Vicki Curry said. The storefront ban would then go into effect after 30 days. In the interim, letters will be sent to as many as 900 dispensaries advising them of the ban.
The city has fumbled with its medical marijuana laws for years, trying to provide safe and affordable access to the drug for legitimate patients while addressing worries by neighborhood groups that streets were being overrun by dispensaries and pot users. "Relief is on the way," said Councilman Jose Huizar, who introduced the so-called "gentle ban."
Many cities have struggled with medical marijuana ordinances, but none has had a bigger problem than Los Angeles, where pot shops have proliferated. At one point, the city ordered closure of the shops - a process that failed amid lawsuits and conflicting rulings by appellate courts. This time around the city has a stronger case if faced with lawsuits by pot shop owners, city officials said. A recent appellate court ruling seems to support the new ordinance that refers to a marijuana collective as three or fewer people.
The ban also allows hospices and home health agencies to provide medical pot.
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