A group of medical marijuana advocates on Friday submitted more than 73,500 petition signatures to qualify a ballot measure that would allow pot dispensaries to operate in Los Angeles under specific conditions.
The proposed ballot measure would allow storefront medical cannabis collectives that are at least 500 to 1,000 feet from schools, parks, libraries, child care centers and religious institutions. If approved, the measure would also impose a business tax of $60 on every $1,000 of marijuana sold at the dispensaries.
The initiative is backed by a group called Angelenos for Safe Access, a coalition of medical marijuana collectives and patients. They hope to get the measure on the May 21 citywide general election ballot. The group needs 41,138 valid signatures to qualify.
"The city needs a sensible strategy for regulating marijuana that won't allow for the unregulated proliferation of dispensaries across the city," said Steven Afriat, a registered lobbyist and spokesman for Angelenos for Safe Access. "This initiative protects our neighborhoods, puts bad operators out of business and raises millions of dollars annually for the city's General Fund.''
A separate group has submitted petition signatures for a medical marijuana initiative that would allow a select group of slightly more than 100 dispensaries that were in operation prior to Sept. 14, 2007, when the city attempted to place a moratorium on new pot shops, to reopen. The competing plan is backed by the Committee to Protect Patients and Neighborhoods, comprised of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance and Americans for Safe Access-LA.
City officials have struggled for years to come up with a legal way to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries; however, the city has been stymied at every turn by lawsuits and conflicting court opinions.
In July, the Los Angeles City Council opted to ban dispensaries until ongoing court cases or revised state law provide clarity on how the city can legally regulate dispensaries. A referendum that would have overturned the ban qualified for the March ballot, and council members repealed the ban in October, leaving dispensaries completely unregulated.
The City Council is now studying a so-called "limited immunity'' law similar to the Committee to Protect Patients and Neighborhoods' measure. The plan aims to reduce the number of dispensaries to those that were operating prior to the 2007 effort to halt the proliferation of pot shops and to place tight restrictions on them.
As far as I can determine, the only interests these public officials are serving are those of illegal marijuana distributors and nineteenth-century cotton growers. The City Council needs to set aside its personal prejudices, imaginary political consequences and possibly the hallucinations born of their own misspent youth, and take responsibility for administering the laws of this communiity.
The ERNC had been trying for years to get the MMD's under control but once you entered the fray and exploited a loophole in the ERNC voting laws and contacted Local 770 to try and win the election disingenuously and STILL LOST, I believe this showed the council member, that the ER residents did not want MMD's in their neighborhood. As a representative of our neighborhood, I would say he was just doing what he could to resolve an issue that needed to be resolved based on the will of his constituents. Now go ahead and say I'm and anonymous poster and my opinion is nil, but people can still read and make their own opinions, regardless of the author.
The ERNC Election was no loss. It connected many well-meaning, like-minded folks and showed all of Eagle Rock the unfortunate knee-jerk reaction that is still present in today's politics. While I'm talking about opening up a collective dialogue in order to find mutual understanding, they're putting up obstacles for Eagle Rock's true patrons on a technicality, virtually forcing the factual-basis method. It's less Community Representation and more Community Manipulation. From casting the first stone, to manipulative handouts, to pulling shotguns, this election had the current admin playing rough. It successfully painted a villain where there is none. Many saw this and chose to help in any way they could. I always accepted help from those who showed interest in having open dialogue. Ultimately, Elliot is correct in stating that this is a matter for the Council (namely Huizar) from which to remove personal convictions/prejudices. He refused to lead his community to resolution. Instead, he invited strong-arming from the Federal Government to stifle constructive dialogue. There was never a 'takeover' and this did not "resolve the issue". This forced it.
That fact is they are gone, and to much delight of many Eagle Rock residents. Also, I would say Huizar lead his community to resolution, not just the resolution you were hoping for, he actually got something done, a lot more than I can say for many politicians. And as a side note, allowing factual based stakeholders to vote in a neighborhood election is like allowing international tourists to vote in a U.S. Presidential election. They spent money in the US they should have a say in our politics, right? Nonsense.
Folks are now more connected than ever. They are looking beyond the scare tactics and are looking more toward sensibility and mutual understanding. Speaking directly on Cannabis, there are two states that have voted to legalize, there are two more who are on the path, 17 have Medical Marijuana, and many more are following suit. The world is coming to terms with the fact that Cannabis is not the demon herb that they once thought. It's time to stop the gloating and start working with future potential. No one in Eagle Rock has to "go somewhere else to get it." Closing the stores didn't eradicate Cannabis from Eagle Rock, it just helped redistribute it onto the street/roads. Cannabis is not going away. It would be most productive to work with it instead of fighting it. Creating obstacles, like forcing the factual-basis because of a technicality is counterproductive and men like Jose will do well to seriously consider this.
Get Huizar, Larsen, and NOPEgera out of eagle rock! Btw do you have any copies of those 'manipulative handouts'? I'm sure I could make some use of them.
Maybe I shouldn't have said "Mumbo Jumbo" I don't believe his views are correct and flippantly blew him off, that was wrong, in the future ill save all flippant behavior for your posts. It is good to see you are still harping on Larsen, who hasn't made a post on here in months. Obsess Much??
It's not an obsession. It's an ongoing problem.
Nelson- Here is a direct question, dialogue. Where do you think MMD's should be located in relationship to residential neighborhoods?