Results tagged “marijuana”

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.

Surprisingly, this didn't happen earlier. A new iPhone App simply called Cannabis, which will "let users search by city for their nearest medical cannabis suppliers, doctors, clinics, lawyers and other relevant organisations," explains The Sun. "Makers the campaign group Ajnag.com hope to add cannabis related news, menus, reviews and videos soon." Also: A few months ago, the iPhone compatible Weedmaps launched. It uses Google Maps and is also like the Cannabis app, being all social networky and all. There's even a community section so patients can find marijuana related jobs, 420 friendly roommates and more.

Just like in a recent episode of Weeds, deep within public lands are some major areas prime for cultivating marijuana. Yesterday, local and federal officials eradicated two sites, one in a state park and another on National Park land. Likely to be worth close to $10 million on the street, 2,088 marijuana plants were found in Malibu Creek State Park and another 1421 in Zuma Canyon.

If marijuana were to be legalized for recreational use, it would raise nearly $1.4 billion for the California, announced a state tax board yesterday. The numbers were from an analysis of a bill, AB390, introduced earlier this year by San Francisco Assemblymember Tom Ammiano.

It's about time, no? After weeks of rejecting bogus medical marijuana dispensaries, three LA City Councilmembers brought forth a motion to explore a tax on legal medical marijuana sales in the city. “In this current economic crisis, we need to get creative about how we raise funds. A tax on medical marijuana could enable the city to continue providing services we might otherwise have to cut,” said Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Retired LAPD officer and West Valley Councilman Dennis Zine said "Part of becoming a legitimate business in the City of Los Angeles means supporting local government by paying a fair share of municipal taxes.” Councilman Bill Rosendahl also brought forth the measure. A motion for a resolution in support of H.R. 2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which allows for state law to prevail with regard to medical marijuana use, was also introduced.

This morning's greater alarm fire in the Arts District that took one building with it was apparently a marijuana grow-house, according to KNX1070 radio. "We don't have any eyewitness reports of interesting-smelling smoke," noted downtown maven, Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. The fire, first reported at 6:40 a.m. on the 600 block of South Santa Fe Avenue in the one story commercial building, took 75 firefighters 37 minutes to knockdown. The cause is under investigation but police are reportedly treating it as a crime. UPDATE: "There's nothing confirmed at this point regarding that," said LAFD Spokesman Erik Scott at 9:50 a.m.

The hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries that cropped up all over town in the past few years are now facing uncertain futures, as City officials mull the next step in the process to close them down, reports the LA Times. They are working on a short list of pot shops "targeted for extinction by a City Council chagrined that it allowed hundreds to open in Los Angeles despite a 21-month-old moratorium."

The storefronts denied today had all applied for hardship exemptions before it was removed from the city's marijuana dispensary moratorium earlier this afternoon. Only owners from two stores appeared to speak during public comment, noting they were unprepared because notices of today's hearing were only sent out last Friday.

In a unanimous vote by the Los Angeles City Council this afternoon, a loop hole in a medical marijuana moratorium was filled. "Hopefully that will bring this matter to success," said Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD officer. Although a ban on new medical marijuana dispensaries went into effect in 2007, the hardship exemption language created a loophole, prompting over 500 new storefronts to pop up around the city. With today's action, hardship exemptions will no longer be an option for new medical marijuana dispensaries. UPDATE: The six month extension may have not actually gone through, we are awaiting confirmation on that item. Stay tuned...

Since a moratorium went into effect on new dispensaries, the exact opposite happened--more than 500 opened because of a hardship exemption loophole in the ordinance. Today, a few months shy of the moratorium being lifted, the City Council will vote on to whether or not close that loophole, as recommended by its planning and land use committee, and will look at 16 (of the many hundreds) hardship applications, either passing them or denying them.