Results tagged “marijuana”

KNBC's lead morning reporter, Robert Kovacik shared this humorous fact today: "#Canoga Park: #Marijuana growing site found 25 ft from the back door of the #LAPD Topanga station. Topanga townhall w/ Beck scheduled Thurs." No doubt, cops were tipped off to the smell.

No surprise here, but a vote on the proposed of Los Angeles' medical marijuana ordinance was delayed until next week. There was much discussion at this morning's meeting about how sales is being interpreted within the state law in addition to several proposed changes that must be reviewed by the city attorney's office.

Although two City Council committees voted down a draft ordinance on regulating medical marijuana, the full board is expected to discuss the matter during today's 10 a.m. meeting. District and City Attorneys Steve Cooley and Carmen Trutanich interpret pot sales to be illegal under state law, but the council, along with everyone else, seem to be leaning towards passing a law that allows for sales, as long as you have a legal license to purchase the drug for medicinal purposes.

The people of Los Angeles and L.A. County have elected themselves a hot mess. District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich--both elected by the public--believe most all medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal. That's because their interpretation of state law is that marijuana cannot be just sold to those with licenses, but distributed to members of a nonprofit collective of people who carry licenses.

A proposed medical marijuana ordinance for Los Angeles has failed to garner a majority of votes. Today, two committees rejected the fifth proposal submitted in a year and a half time, this one drafted by the recently-elected City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. Proponents of medical marijuana threatened to sue if this draft went through and the majority of councilmembers agreed that it was too prohibitive. The full council could still take up the issue as early as Wednesday, says the LA Times. Around 1,000 dispensaries are within Los Angeles city limits.

Sheriff's Deputies in Palmdale on patrol got a whiff of marijuana yesterday evening and in a good moment of Sherlock Holmes, followed the smell to a house. What did they find? About 400 plants, occupying 70% of the home, with lighting, watering and ventilation systems, found the Daily News. On man was detained immediately.

As Los Angeles prepares to dive into their own pot law, Long Beach is already taking it head on. Last night they voted to make some changes to a proposed medical marijuana ordinance, loosening some restrictions, before finalizing the law. "The changes included, among others, allowing collectives in mixed-use areas; removing prohibitions against having collectives within 1,000 feet of libraries and parks; improving patient privacy issues so as to not identify every member of a collective; giving a grace period for existing collectives to comply once the law goes into effect; and allowing collective patients to grow marijuana in their homes," reports the Press Telegram.

Remember that draft ordinance submitted to City Council last month (read a copy of it here and scroll down)? Well, it's finally going to a city council committee where it will be vetted, questioned, possibly changed and more next Monday, according to the Daily News. Once and if passed out of committee, it will move to the full city council for a vote.

As Los Angeles fumbles around with the latest proposed medical marijuana ordinance, the Long Beach City Council is set to examine its own tomorrow. If passed, the law would limit where dispensaries may be located, hours of operation, how it can be distributed and records of every member, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram.

LA Times columnist Steve Lopez teased us Monday about his adventure of getting recommendation approved for medical marijuana by a gynecologist and today his experience was told in full. An excerpt: I stood to show him where my back hurts. He asked me to bend down, and I demonstrated that I couldn't touch my toes, but I don't think he could see that. He hadn't moved from his seat. I pointed again to my lower back and asked if there were a disc that low.

The road to legalizing marijuana for all in California takes another step tomorrow. The California Assembly Public Safety Committee tomorrow will hold an informational hearing "on the implications of taxing and regulating marijuana similarly to alcoholic beverages," according to a press release from Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), chair of the committee and author of the legislation.

Can't wait to read about this in his next column!

In response recent promises of strict medical marijuana enforcement from City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and District Attorney Steve Cooley, the Marijuana Policy Project quickly hired an an independent firm to poll L.A. County voters on the issue. No surprises here, 74 percent support the California's medical marijuana law with 54 percent in support of marijuana being legalized for all, just the way Governor Schwarzenegger wants it.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich wants the City Council to pass the latest proposed ordinance aimed at regulating medical marijuana dispensaries (you can read that ordinance in full, embedded below).

This weekend is the big two-day music festival and cannabis expo at the San Manuel Amphitheater and police are ready to make arrests. Cypress Hills, Slipnot, Deftones among many other bands are playing alongside the Cannibus Cup, Medical Marijuana Expo and 4:20 Movie Night. In a statement, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department warns against any recreational use of the drug. "Further, there is no provision in the law for the use of marijuana while operating a motor vehicle, whether someone possesses a doctor's recommendation for the drug or not."

The newly proposed ordinance--the fourth to be considered--is reported to be the most strict version yet. "Under the measure, the shops will be open only from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., will be allowed to have only five pounds of marijuana on hand and no more than 100 plants," says the Daily News. "Also, all the marijuana provided must have been grown by the collective." Additionally, locations not following city rules will be forced to shut down immediately. But the proposal is not without potential controversy and lawsuit fodder. Dispensaries would be required to hand over the names of members and providers to police, owners of new locations will have to notify neighborhood councils and the city council, the sale or manufacture of edible marijuana treats will be banned...

A superior court judge today told Los Angeles city officials in a preliminary injunction that they were the ones breaking the law, not a medical marijuana dispensary that was told it could not operate under a 2007 moratorium--since extended twice--banning new medical marijuana facilities.

In a major switch from the Bush Administration, Attorney General Eric Holder in a memo today told agencies in 14 states to stop prioritizing raids and cases against those who comply with state medical marijuana laws. It's not a good use of time, the three-page legal memo said, urging that criminals should be the focus of any efforts.

A 55-year-old mother and her two sons are in trouble after a series of events that led police to find a home used for child care was also used for nefarious activities. On Wednesday evening, after 23-year-old Benjamin Kuzelka's hand was injured by a bomb, he went to the hospital saying it was a gunshot wound, according to the LA Times. Doctors said the injury was inconsistent with a gun shot and notified police, who in turn responded to Kuzelka's home, finding bomb making materials and marijuana plants. Both the mother, Rebbeca Kuzelka and brother, 21-year-old Grey Kuzelka were arrested.

Of all that smoke that clouded the Los Angeles region during the Station Fire, some was of the whacky variety. Sheriff's deputies had identified three marijuana cultivation sites just before the fire began last month and they're sure more sites, unbeknownst to them, went aflame as well.

When Orange County's independent TV station KDOC dumped Cannabis Planet, it wasn't too hard for executive producer Brad Lane to find a willing provider. As of August 13th, the half-hour show has been airing twice weekly on another local indie station, KJLA, which reaches around five million SoCal households, according to the New York Times in a profile of the show.

It's safe to say that weed shops are more common than Pinkberry and Starbucks. Thanks to the LA Times, we know that there's about five "collectives" within a five-minute walk of us (how about you?). And look, the people in the Valley can't complain that their not getting their fair share. In fact, one neighborhood prosecutor told the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council earlier this summer that the LAPD's Van Nuys Division had the most dispensaries than any other in the city. Here are some other interesting facts, via the Times:

Possibly adding fuel to the city's grease fire to get rid of illegal street vendors, a Center for Disease Control report released today tells of an April incident in which pot brownies bought from a bogus church fundraiser ended up in a preschool teacher's lounge sickening several teachers.

Despite what many people think, the police are not always against medical marijuana dispensaries. A legal institution is a legal institution and when said institution happens to have lots of drugs and money inside their business, it's a prime target for robbery. Not many details are out now, but LAPD tomorrow will be asking the press and public's help "to inform the public about medical marijuana dispensary robberies and suspects who are to be considered armed and dangerous," an advisory says. "Police are also asking for the public’s help to identify and locate the suspects." Apparently, some incidents have happened in the West Valley.

The marijuana farm suspected of being the cause of the 90,000-acre La Brea fire in Santa Barbara County is reported to have at least 30,000 plants. "Also found were stacks of propane tanks, melted irrigation tubing, empty canisters of fertilizer, mounds of trash, a torched cooking stove and a semiautomatic rifle," reported the LA Times. "The growers diverted a nearby stream and planted the garden on the side of a mountain." 225,058 plants have already been found this year by officials in the county. More locally, marijuana plantations were found in the Santa Monica Mountains last month.

Authorities in Santa Barbara County have confirmed that a wildfire which has currently scorched over 75,000 acres was set within a Mexican drug operation's cooking area, according to LA Now. The blaze began on the pot farm, and it's believed "the assailants are still in the forest area trying leave the forest by foot," as the fire rages uncontrolled. The "La Brea fire" started on August 8th, but is only at about 25% contained right now. Although firefighters are working to deprive the blaze of new fuel to burn through, hot temperatures, low humidity, and difficult terrain have made this battle a challenge. Over two hundred homes remain on evacuation.

A collective of enforcement agencies including the FBI, DEA, local police departments and the IRS raided at least two dispensaries on the Westside for unknown reasons this afternoon. Warrants were also served on the private homes of the owners. Organica Collective on Washington Blvd. in Culver City was raided followed by the Overland Gardens Collective in West Los Angeles were raided around 11 a.m. and authorities were still searching for unknown things hours later. A dog believed to be a pit bull was shot at one of the locations.

The City Council is slowly but surely making their way through hundreds of applications for medical marijuana dispensaries that applied for permits and set up shot during a moratorium from 2007. 42 of the 779 applications have been denied so far and yesterday, 18 of them were recommended for denial by a City Council committee, according to the LA Times. The moratorium, which has not been lifted, let 186 already-existing dispensaries to continue operations.

Yesterday an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur took his first official step to put a proposition on the 2010 ballot that would ask Californians to legalize marijuana. If passed, those over 21 could smoke freely and could grow it for personal use on garden plots up to 25 square feet, according to the Associated Press. Richard Lee and his group will need to collect 434,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. This proposition is different from a less restrictive one filed two weeks ago by two lawyers in Northern California. Also at the state politics level, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano's bill will have hearings this Fall.

No matter how legal a marijuana dispensary is, drugs and money make them popular targets for crime. One of those such incidents last year on an October afternoon left Noe Gonzalez, a security guard, dead when a robbery attempt by four men went wrong at La Brea Collective on the 800 block of La Brea. And although two of the suspects were immediately caught, two others were on the loose and put on L.A.'s Most Wanted list.