Los Angeles City Council ponders West Hollywood medical marijuana ordinance

November 21, 10:54 AMLA Medical Marijuana ExaminerRuth Denburg Yoshiwara

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Typical inventory at a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary

AP photo/Reed Saxon

While the Los Angeles City Council is stalled in its attempts to craft a workable medical  marijuana ordinance, the city of West Hollywood, within the boundaries of the County of Los Angeles, has had a viable ordinance in place for at least two years. West Hollywood's ordinance  is often cited by  pro medical marijuana forces and even some law enforcement as a workable model that Los Angeles could follow.  An examination of the West Hollywood ordinance is in order.

Provisions of West Hollywood Municipal Code Section 19.36.165 concerning medical marijuana dispensaries include requirements that the dispensaries:

•  be 1000 feet away from any other medical marijuana dispensary;
•  be 500 feet away from any church, temple, playground, park, day care facility or school;

• be located only on major commerical steets and not in residential areas;
• provide security and lighting and a neighborhood security guard patrol for a two-block radius surrounding the dispensary;

• limit  hours of operation;
• forbid loitering or use on marijuana on the premises;
• limits cash on the premises over night to $200 and requires daily bank deposits;
• provide law enforcement and all neighbors within 100 feet of the dispensary with the name and phone number of an on-site community relations staff person to notify if there are any problems;
• send operators to attend bi-monthly meetings with the Sheriff's Dept. and city staff;
• give law enforcement unrestricted access to the premises; and
  
• limits the number of dispensaries operating in the city at any time to four.
  

The West Hollywood ordinance does allow sales of marijuana at its store front dispensaries, presumably still making them a target for prosecutors and law enforcement asserting that any and all sales of medical marijuana at store front dispensaries are illegal because California law only allows for collective cultivation of the herb.  The Los Angeles City Council has thus far rejected  as being impractical
the advice of LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and LA County District  Attorney Steve Cooley to completely ban the sales.  "To create access, you must have a structure that allows dispensaries to survive,"  said City Councilman  Ed Reyes. Both Reyes and Councilman Jose Huizar have introduced proposed amendments to the Los Angeles ordinance that borrow heavily from West Hollywood's.

City officials in West Hollywood say it has been more than two years since a resident has complained about a dispensary.  "We've kept them on a short leash", says WH City Councilman John Duran.
Los Angeles should do the same.