Search Results: koretz (7)

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If referendum qualifies, city council will be forced to either rescind its ordinance or call a special election
The medical marijuana dispensary ban in Los Angeles may be short-lived.
With plenty of time to spare, medical marijuana advocates on Wednesday filed more than 50,000 signatures in an effort to overturn a recently passed ban on dispensaries throughout the city. Despite a loud outcry from patient advocates, the Los Angeles City Council adopted an outright ban last month on medical marijuana distribution within the city limits.
The ban came after the city failed for more than four years to develop regulations suitable for providing medical marijuana to the tens of thousands of area patients.

LA UNFD

Medical marijuana patients in Los Angeles only have one more month of safe access to cannabis before a hare-brained scheme to ban dispensaries in the sprawling city goes into effect on September 6.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the City Council’s ban last Thursday, reports Dennis Romero of L.A. Weekly, and the ordinance was published on Monday, giving it 31 days — until Thursday, September 6 — to take effect, according to the City Clerk’s office.
While the hapless City Council has taken five years of wrangling with the issue since their 2007 moratorium — giving a convincing portrayal of clueless incompetence — it seems that now they’re on the way to banning dispensaries, they’ve suddenly found a new sense of purpose.

Where’s Weed?

Advocates Outraged; Vow To Reverse New Law With A Referendum

The Los Angeles City Council, after having flirted with the idea for some time, on Tuesday voted to ban the medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, claiming “neighborhood concerns” were a factor in the decision, along with recent court rulings questioning the right of cities to regulate the cannabis collectives.

The majority view of the council has evolved, reports Dennis Romero of LA Weekly, to the outlook that the city’s dispensary scene was not foreseen by state legislators when they allowed collectives as part of SB 420, which in 2003 clarified and expanded Proposition 215, approved by state voters back in 1996.

The Weed Business

Court of Appeal Rejects Municipal Dispensary Bans
City of Los Angeles will soon vote on whether to enact an outright ban similar to the County ban just rejected
In a landmark decision, a California court has affirmed the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries under state law, and rejected bans imposed by cities and by Los Angeles County.
The Second District Court of Appeal in California issued the decision on Monday in County of Los Angeles v. Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective (AMCC). In particular, the court held that Los Angeles County’s “complete ban” on medical marijuana is “preempted” by state law and, therefore, void.
The AMCC decision reverses a preliminary junction granted to the County by the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2011.

Dispensary ban author, L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar: “If you don’t like the state law, let’s change the state law”

A Los Angeles City Council committee on Tuesday moved forward with a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, approving a recommendation to outlaw storefront cannabis outlets in the city while still allowing “small groups” of up to three patients and caregivers to grow their own.

The Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee agreed to allow the full City Council to consider a complete ban on the pot shops, one of two options they considered on Tuesday, reports Mike Szymanski of City News Service.
PLUM could have considered a less restrictive plan, proposed by council member Paul Koretz, but the committee instead approved a full ban until a decision comes down from the California Supreme Court on pending lawsuits regarding the legality of dispensary sales of medical marijuana.

Where’s Weed?

Here we go again. A marijuana dispensary ban will be considered at Los Angeles City Hall tomorrow, Tuesday, May 29. The L.A. City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) committee will look at the proposed ban.

“A complete obliteration of Los Angeles’ famous and numerous pot shops is on the table,” writes Dennis Romero at the LA Weekly.
The committee will consider two options:
• A “gentle ban” proposed by Councilman Paul Koretz, who claims its a “more reasonable” approach through which L.A. proceeds with a ban on dispensaries, but uses “prosecutorial discretion” to abstain from enforcement actions against dispensaries deemed not to be in violation of a set of City Council-imposed “restrictions.” 

Photo: Medical Marijuana Blog

​The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday will consider amending its medical marijuana ordinance, because one of its obscure provisions unexpectedly disqualified 140 cannabis dispensaries from continuing operations, leaving only 40 shops.

When the council approved the ordinance last spring, it allowed up to 180 dispensaries — those that had registered with the city before a moratorium was imposed in 2007 — to stay open, if they were at least 1,000 feet from homes, schools, religious institutions and other dispensaries, reports NBC Los Angeles.