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1967 may have been the Summer of Love in San Francisco, but, for Los Angeles, summer 2009 was the Summer of Pot. Due to a combination of laws, loopholes, and lack of enforcement, parts of L.A. have experienced a marijuana free-for-all.
The law
Possession of marijuana is illegal under federal law. However, in 1996, California’s Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) legalized marijuana for “seriously ill Californians” upon “recommendation” from a physician. The law was written broadly enough to include "any ... illness for which marijuana provides relief." Then, in 2004, Senate Bill 420 required California counties to issue i.d. cards to patients for obtaining marijuana pursuant to a doctor’s recommendation. The law also protected patients from prosecution for possession or cultivation of marijuana in limited quantities. Additionally, Senate Bill 420 permitted people “collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes.” However, the bill specifically did not "authorize any individual or group to cultivate or distribute marijuana for profit."
Los Angeles City Council
In 2007, the Los Angeles City Council passed an Interim Control Ordinance establishing a moratorium on new pot dispensaries, to give it time to draft a permanent ordinance to regulate dispensaries. The L.A. moratorium allowed only the existing registered 186 dispensaries to operate. However, the moratorium contained a loophole permitting dispensaries to apply for "hardship exemptions." Over 500 dispensaries applied for the exemptions, and were left alone while their cases were pending. In the meantime, dispensaries and doctors proliferated in the Los Angeles area, with estimates of as many as 1,000 dispensaries operating locally.
The party rages on
In addition to people with serious medical conditions, some Angelenos have obtained pot from L.A.'s dispensaries more for “aromatherapy” purposes. Due to the broadly written law, designated doctors freely prescribe pot, and a number of them, as well as numerous dispensaries, require cash payments, without giving receipts. Bikini-clad girls stand outside the Venice Beach dispensary, trying to draw passers-by inside. This summer, the smell of marijuana permeated a number of public places, from the Venice Boardwalk to West Hollywood and beyond.
The crackdown?
Last June, the City Council struck the hardship exemption from the moratorium, signaling a stricter regulatory regime. However, in October, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the moratorium is illegal. Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich submitted a draft ordinance that banned the "sale" of marijuana by dispensaries. The Los Angeles City Council is debating a new, stricter ordinance, but it rejected Trutanich's proposed ban on the cash sale of marijuana at dispensaries. However, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley also says he will prosecute dispensaries for engaging in cash transactions even if the City Council says such transactions are legal. On November 18, the City Council put off a vote on a new ordinance until this Tuesday, November 24. The entire issue could be headed for a train wreck, or at least the California state courts.
Meanwhile, Angelenos with medical conditions which marijuana truly helps are in limbo. Some fear that their access to medical marijuana may soon be restricted. At the same time, folks who have been obtaining medical marijuana for aromatherapy may be thinking that it’s time to party while the party lasts.
For more info: How marijuana became legal
© 2009 Matthew Emmer -- All Rights Reserved
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Comments
Simple choice.
You can argue the pro and con points all day long and you will still be left with the fact that either the drug gangs or the gov't will distribute cannabis. You can talk about messages, children, age appropriate access, the law is the law, what part about illegal don't you understand, addiction, family problems, etc...but the bottom line is that cannabis will be distributed...either by the drug gangs or the gov't...but someone will distribute cannabis. People want it. That's how cannabis became the largest cash crop in 14 states. All under the noses of the police, dea, cia, border patrol, and (insert laugh here) GED educated homeland security personnel (seriously, that's all they require...a GED, scary).
Like the system currently in place? Then the drug gangs get to distribute. Want something different? Then the gov't gets to distribute. Cannabis will be distributed. Who do you want to do it? I say keep the drug gangs out, legalize, regulate, and collect taxes.
Thanks TYC, good points. Lots of folks say the sensible thing to do is exactly what you write in your last sentence. But legalizing would have to be done at the federal level, since states outright legalizing pot would be intolerable to the feds. What are the chances that Congress, which cannot even pass health insurance reform without getting into a massive fight over abortion, would stick its neck out (60 votes in the Senate to stop filibuster) to legalize marijuana? Some states have decriminalized small possession, but that would not establish the regulation/taxing system that you suggest.
It's time to drive a wedge between the criminal drug dealers and our kids. Licensing, taxing, and regulating marijuana will put the drug dealers out of business and protect our children. Regulate the marijuana business, medical or otherwise. While we’re at it, let’s implement a personal cultivation permit. Limit the number of plants, and put a fee on it, something like a fishing license, with maybe a little extra for education or fixing the roads.
How about $100 per year for a permit to cultivate a dozen plants? It's a win-win.
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