Committee Balks on Los Angeles Dispensary Regulations
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published October 7, 2009 |
Four years after the Los Angeles City Council began the process of establishing regulations for the hundreds of medical cannabis dispensaries there, a key committee has said none may be allowed.
The three council members who sit on the LA Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM) appeared to act out of frustration, after City Attorney Carmen Trutanich refused to provide them with an ordinance that would regulate when and where dispensaries can operate. Trutanich's position is that the law does not allow any type of sale of medicinal cannabis, including distributing through storefront patient collectives.
The position of the newly elected city attorney -- while contrary to the legal opinion of many experts, including the state Attorney General -- should not be a surprise. Trutanich has consistently opposed any regulations that create community oversight and facilitate access for patients.
In fact, both Trutanich and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley are headlining an October 8 training by the California Narcotics Officers Association entitled "The Eradication of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County."
Nonetheless, the California Attorney General's 2008 guidelines on medical cannabis expressly say such dispensing collectives may be legal, and ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford has just argued before the 4th District Appeals Court that state law intended to ensure uniform implementation of the medical cannabis law throughout the state should prevent local dispensary bans.
The proposed Los Angeles ordinance now goes to the city council's Public Safety Committee.
