Legislation

L.A.’s New Medical Pot Law Will Shut Hundreds Of Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 7, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Starting today, June 7, Los Angeles’s medical marijuana ordinance says there should be 400 fewer dispensaries in town.

Hundreds of Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries are under orders to lock their doors Monday as the city’s new ordinance regulating the shops takes effect. About 400 stores have been ordered to shut down by Monday, June 7.

“The people pushing the law haven’t come out to see what we’re actually doing here,” said “Amber,” an employee at The Humming Collective in Highland Park. “We’re here for everyone, and it’s a shame they don’t see that as part of the healing of the community.”

The owner of The Humming Collective said they serve 4,000 patients, most of them from the San Gabriel Valley, reports Leanne Suter at KABC-TV. Those who rely on the location will be seriously impacted by the city’s new ordinance, according to patients and advocates.

L.A. Pot Shop Says It Will Stay Open Despite New Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 7, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Los Angeles Cannabis Clubs

JJ Herbal says it is committed to serving patients in the West Los Angeles area — even if the city tries to shut it down

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge’s rejection on Friday of requests for a temporary restraining order on L.A.’s ordinance restricting the number of medical marijuana dispensaries means hundreds of shops must close on Monday. But at least one dispensary on Santa Monica Boulevard plans on staying open.

According to Michael Lee, manager at JJ Herbal, there are no plans to close, even if it is found the shop is out of compliance with the new law.

The facility’s attorney is still determining whether JJ Herbal is affected by the ordinance because of its proximity to a residential area, reports Jonathan Friedman at Lookout News.

Group Pushes For Legalized Medical Marijuana In Pennsylvania

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: PennLive.com

Bills that would legalize the medical use of marijuana are before the Pennsylvania House and Senate — and polls show that a majority of Pennsylvanians support them.

If the Legislature follows the will of the people, the Keystone State would be the 15th in the nation to legalize medicinal use of cannabis.

The Legislature is seriously considering making marijuana legal for seriously ill patients with specific conditions, but as usual, opponents are claiming it will make pot more available to everyone — as if anyone who wants weed can’t find it already.

Colorado High Court Declines To Hear Big Medical Pot Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Johnny California

The controversial court ruling last year requiring medical marijuana caregivers and dispensaries to do more than simply supply cannabis will not be heard by the Colorado Supreme Court.

The high court on Thursday declined to hear on appeal People v. Clendenin, a case in which the Court of Appeals upheld Stacy Clendenin for cultivation and sale of marijuana, reports Matt Masich at Law Week Colorado. Clendenin argued it was legal for her to sell medical marijuana because she qualified as a caregiver under Colorado’s medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2000.

Arizona: Medical Marijuana Qualifies For November Ballot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Reality Catcher

An initiative which would legalize medical marijuana has qualified for the November ballot in Arizona.

The Arizona Secretary of State on Tuesday informed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project (AMMPP) that it had turned in the required number of signatures — 153,365 — to qualify for the ballot. The initiative will be presented to Arizona voters for approval on November 2, reports the Tucson Citizen.

AMMPP in April turned in 252,000 signatures to make sure that the required 153,365 valid signatures were turned it.

Marijuana Legalization On November Ballot In Detroit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Shawn Wilson

The movement to legalize marijuana in Detroit appears to be ready for a decision by voters in November after petitions were certified by the Detroit Elections Commission. The initiative would legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use.

The petitions were filed by the Coalition for a Safer Detroit last month with City Clerk Janice Winfrey. Backers said petitions to put the initiative before voters were certified May 19, reports Darren A. Nichols of The Detroit News.

“They met the proper number (of signatures) and we met all the legal standards,” said Tim Beck, a registered medical marijuana patient who filed the petitions.

California Patients Challenge Marijuana Restrictions

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: LAist

Medical marijuana patients say a Los Angeles ordinance violates state law and will unconstitutionally restrict their safe access to the medicine. The patients are filing a class action in California Superior Court.

L.A.’s new medical pot ordinance will cap the number of marijuana dispensaries at 70, but about 187 shops that registered with the city before November 13, 2007 will be allowed to continue operating, reports June Williams at Courthouse News Service.

“The effect of this ordinance will be to eliminate most, if not all, of the dispensing operations currently providing patients with their medicine,” the complaint reads. “Additionally, the cap of 70 is arbitrary and unreasonable given patient per capita allocations, particularly when compared to pharmacies, which have no such cap.”

“Though the city states in its findings that it desires to protect the impact of these operations on the city’s neighborhoods, the net effect of the restrictions will be to create mega-collective dispensaries that will have a greater impact on neighborhoods,” according to the complaint.

L.A. Times Poll: California Voters Back Pot Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2010 Culture, Legislation

Graphic: Cooljuno411

California voters think they should be allowed to grow and consume marijuana, according to a new Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll. The poll also found more than one in three voters had tried pot, and more than one in 10 had used cannabis in the past year.

The poll found that voters back the marijuana legalization measure on November’s ballot, Tax Cannabis 2010, by a 49 percent to 41 percent margin, with 10 percent undecided, reports John Hoeffel at The Los Angeles Times. But support for the initiative is shaky, the Times reports, with one-third of legalization supporters saying they favor it only “somewhat.”

“The good news for proponents is that they are starting off with a decent lead,” said Dan Schnur, director of USC’s Jesse M. Unruh School of Politics. “The good news for the opposition is that initiatives that start off at less than 50 percent in the polls usually have a hard time.”

Montana: Most Would Still Vote For Medical Marijuana Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: KFBB

A local newspaper poll indicates that Montanans still support legalized medical marijuana in their state.

The citizens of Montana legalized medical marijuana in 2004 with an overwhelming 62 percent of the vote.

The new law didn’t attract a lot of attention until the federal government announced last year that it would not go after medical marijuana patients and providers who are abiding by their state laws determining legal use of cannabis.

But since then, the medical marijuana industry has boomed in Montana, and some anti-drug zealots are now claiming the law is too vague, that it has allowed the sale of marijuana in circumstances that voters didn’t have in mind when they passed the initiative six years ago, reports the Helena Independent Record.

Illinois Could Legalize Medical Marijuana Friday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 28, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Illinois Valley News

The Illinois Legislature is scheduled to vote on a bill Friday that would legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Pointing to medical research showing marijuana effectively treats pain, nausea and other symptoms of debilitating medical conditions, the bill would allow patients to legally possess marijuana if their physicians diagnose them with a qualifying condition and recommend medical marijuana to treat it, reports Chris Kirk of The Daily Northwestern.

A vast majority of Illinois residents say they support medical marijuana, with the most recent poll showing 68 percent support in the state.

The act includes a variety of qualifying conditions, including cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C and conditions causing pain or nausea that are unresponsive to other treatments.

Federal law still bans the possession of marijuana for any purpose. But the act would provide a great deal of protection for medical marijuana patients because states are now required to arrest or prosecute people for violating federal laws.

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