City Council Meeting To Discuss Committee
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published November 17, 2009 |
Thank you to almost four hundred patients and advocates who turned out on Monday morning for the joint committee hearings on medical cannabis regulations. You made a big impact on City Councilmembers and in the press!
I was relived to see the committee reject the City Attorney’s faulty advice, and amend the draft ordinance to allow for sales of cannabis within the membership of collectives and cooperatives. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) warned City Councilmember on Monday morning that a ban on sales would result in a lawsuit.
We are needed again at City Hall on Wednesday, when the full City Council will take up the unfinished work from the committees. A final vote is unlikely, but City Councilmembers are expected to debate issues involving patient privacy, cultivation, and buffer zones around collectives. Can you make one more trip to City Hall this week?
| Date: |
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 |
| Time: | 10:00 AM |
| Address: | City Hall get directions Room 340 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
Arrive early to complete a public speaker’s card in opposition to agenda item 18.
You can get public transit information online at http://www.mta.net/riding_metro/default.htm
Joint PLUM And Public Safety Committee Meeting
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published November 11, 2009 |
Can you take a few minutes today to help stop Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich from pushing an ordinance through City Council that will roll back safe access to medicine in the city? You can make a big difference by making just a few phone calls!
On Monday, November 16, the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and the Public Safety Committee will convene a joint meeting to discuss the draft ordinance. They need to know before then that patients and advocates oppose City Attorney Trutanich’s ordinance. Otherwise, committee members may be bullied into adopting the badly flawed measure.
Visit http://safeaccessnow.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=4257 to get the details.
Make those calls today… and ask your friends and loved ones to do the same.
Make plans now to attend the joint committee meeting on Monday:
| Date: |
Monday, November 16, 2009 |
| Time: | 9:30 AM |
| Address: | City Hall get directions Room 350 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
City Council Schedules 28 Hardship Hearings
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published July 14, 2009 |
Just a brief heads up that the Los Angeles City Council has scheduled 28 medical marijuana hardship exemption application hearings for their Tuesday July 14, 2009 meeting.
Council will be hearing the 28 applications that appeared before the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee on June 29, 2009. The PLUM Committee denied all 28 applications and has recommended that council do the same.
The term hearing is actually a misnomer in this case as City Council is not required to debate or take any further comment on any of these 28
applications since public hearings have already been held on these items
(The PLUM Committee hearing was the public hearing on these items).
Normally if people come down to the Council meeting and fill out a speaker card for a specific item that has already had a public hearing the Council
President will usually ask that that item be called as "special" and additional comment may be allowed. But again, the Council is not required to take any further comments on these items even if people fill out speaker
cards and request time to speak.
Just part of the kangaroo court that these hearings have been up until this point. When someone challenges the rulings in these hearings in court down the road (and someone will) is when it will get interesting and people will then have an opportunity to speak.
The meeting begins at 10:00 AM Tuesday July 14, 2009 at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles.
You can also view the City Council meeting live via the internet at:
http://lacity.org/lacity/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/CouncilMeetings/LIVEandON-DEMANDVideo/index.htm
You can listen live via telephone: COUNCILPHONE, A dial-up system which
allows the public to listen to live coverage of the Los Angeles City Public
Meetings from any phone. The numbers may be used from any location, not just in Los Angeles. Dial up and listen in. Use any of these 4 numbers- (213)
621-CITY, (310) 547-CITY, (310) 471-CITY or (818) 904-9450.
| Date: |
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 |
| Time: | 10:00 AM |
| Address: | City Hall get directions 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
PLUM Committee Schedules 1 Hardship Hearing
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published July 7, 2009 |
The Los Angeles Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee has
scheduled one hardship hearing for Tuesday July 7, 2009 at 2:00 PM. The PLUM
Committee will also receive status reports from various city departments
relative to instructions provided at the June 9, 2009, Planning and Land Use
Management Committee regarding an Ordinance establishing regulations regarding medical marijuana collectives, and amending the Los Angeles
Municipal Code to implement the Compassionate Use Act and the Medical Marijuana Program Act.
The two items regarding medical marijuana are items #13 and #14 in the attached agenda (also copied below).
The hearing will be on Tuesday July 7, 2009 at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N Spring St in room 350 and the meeting begins at 2:00 PM and if you are
unable to attend you listen live online via the internet at
http://lacity.org/lacity/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/CouncilCommitteeMeetings/index.htm
You can also listen live via telephone: COUNCILPHONE, A dial-up system which
allows the public to listen to live coverage of the Los Angeles City Public Meetings from any phone. The numbers may be used from any location, not just in Los Angeles. Dial up and listen in. Use any of these 4 numbers- (213)
621-CITY, (310) 547-CITY, (310) 471-CITY or (818) 904-9450.
From PLUM Committee Agenda of 7-7-2009:
(13)
08-0923
CONTINUED FROM 6-9-09 MEETING Status report from various City Departments relative instructions to provided at the June 9, 2009, Planning and Land Use
Management Committee regarding an Ordinance establishing regulations
regarding medical marijuana collectives, and amending the Los Angeles Municipal Code to implement the Compassionate Use Act and the Medical Marijuana Program Act. (The Second Revised Ordinance considered at the June 9, 2009, Planning and Land Use Management Committee hearing, is also referred to the Public Safety Committee.)
Fiscal Impact Statement Submitted: No Community Impact Statement: Yes General Comments: Westside Neighborhood Council
(14)
05-0872-S124 CD 11 CONTINUED FROM 6-29-09 MEETING Application filed by
Daniel Halbert, Representative, requesting a hardship exemption from the
Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Interim Control Ordinance (No. 179027), for
Best Bud located at 12515 Venice Boulevard. Fiscal Impact Statement Submitted: No Community Impact Statement: None submitted.
Don't forget to join my Medical Marijuana News From Brett Yahoo newsgroup
for the latest marijuana and medical marijuana news http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/mmjnews/
| Date: |
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 |
| Time: | 2:00 PM |
| Address: | City Hall, Rm. 350 get directions 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
29 Medical Marijuana Hardship Hearings Set
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published June 24, 2009 |
The Los Angeles Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee will be holding a special meeting next Monday June 29, 2009 to hear 29 medical marijuana hardship exemption applications.
This list includes at least one pre-ICO collective that relocated due to a DEA landlord letter. Several of the collectives scheduled for hearings are
in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles but the vast majority scheduled for
hearings this time are on the west side of Los Angeles and the San Fernando
Valley.
In Eagle Rock, collectives on Colorado Blvd and Eagle Rock Blvd were
selected for hearings this round.
In Hollywood, collectives on Hollywood Blvd, Sunset Blvd, Cahuenga Blvd and La Brea Ave have been scheduled for hearings next Monday.
Collectives on Pico Blvd, Olympic Blvd, Venice Blvd, Washington Blvd,
Jefferson Blvd, Fairfax Ave and Melrose Ave are among those on the west side that are scheduled while several locations on Ventura Blvd in the west
valley will also be receiving notices of hearings.
The city will be mailing a notice to the collectives having a hearing Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.
The hearing will be Monday June 29, 2009 at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N Spring St in room 260 and the special meeting begins at 8:30 AM and if you
are unable to attend you listen live online at:
http://lacity.org/lacity/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/CouncilCommitteeMeetings/index.htm
More to come on this.
| Date: |
Monday, June 29, 2009 |
| Time: | 8:30 AM |
| Address: | City Hall, Rm. 260 get directions 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
PLUM Committee To Talk About Regulations
| By Americans for Safe Access | Published June 8, 2009 |
The Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee will send recommendations to the City Council regarding permanent regulations for medical cannabis collectives/cooperatives in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon. The Council will then forward the recommendations, including any amendments, to the City Attorney’s office with instructions to write a new ordinance. That ordinance will come back to committee and the full City Council in time for a final vote on the permanent regulations, probably in August.
ASA members are invited to speak at public comments before the meeting. You can see my comments to Chairman Reyes and the other PLUM Committee members at http://www.safeaccessnow.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=3200
Tomorrow’s recommendations are the next step in the long march towards regulations. I am sure there will be amendments from the City Council and changes from the City Attorney before a draft ordinance is ready. Keep an eye on this announcement list for updates and to find out how you can help.
| Date: |
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 |
| Time: | 2:00 PM |
| Address: | City Hall Hearing Rm. 350 get directions 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
LA Moves To Close Moratorium Loophole
| By DPFCA | Published June 1, 2009 |
The Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee will consider a motion by Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar on Tuesday that would remove the controversial hardship provision from the city’s Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) establishing a moratorium on new medical cannabis facilities. Hundreds of new and relocating patients’ associations have filed hardship applications and opened since the City Council adopted the ICO in September 2007. According to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) published recently by the Planning Department, applicants should have waited for approval of their hardship applications before opening. However, inconsistent information from city staff and a lack of enforcement contributed to hundreds of new collectives opening in the last eighteen months.
Councilmember Huizar’s motion is aimed at stopping the proliferation of new medical cannabis providers in light of a growing public backlash. Media, neighborhood groups, and law enforcement are speaking out against the continued proliferation citywide and the clustering of facilities in some neighborhoods. The public outcry comes at an inconvenient time for patients and advocates. The City Council is debating the terms of a permanent ordinance for medical cannabis associations in Los Angeles right now. The growing controversy is likely to influence that debate and the contents of the final regulations.
The PLUM Committee is likely to recommend that the full City Council approve the motion and amend the ICO. No additional hardship applications will be available if the City Council approves the measure at a future meeting. Councilmember Huizar’s motion will not directly impact hundreds of hardship applications already filed. These must still be heard separately by the PLUM Committee, before going to the City Council for final approval or denial. No date has been set to hear the hardship applications at this time.
The PLUM Committee meets at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, June 2, in Hearing Room 350 at City Hall - 200 N. Spring St. at Temple in downtown Los Angeles.
| Date: |
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 |
| Time: | 2:00 PM |
| Address: | City Hall Hearing Rm. 350 get directions 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, California 90012 |
