Judge grants injunction against LA’s medical marijuana moratorium

(Los Angeles Times) A Superior Court judge concluded today that Los Angeles’ moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries is invalid and granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ban sought by a dispensary that had sued the city.

Judge James C. Chalfant determined that the city failed to follow state law when it extended its initial moratorium. “The city cannot rely on an expired ordinance,” he said.

Green Oasis and a number of other medical marijuana collectives sued the city last month, challenging its efforts to control the dispensaries. The lawsuit argued that the City Council violated state law when it extended the ban until mid-March and that it is unconstitutionally vague.

Although the injunction applies only to Green Oasis, the judge’s ruling calls into question the city’s power to enforce the moratorium against hundreds of dispensaries that have opened in the last two years. The ruling could inspire other dispensaries to join the lawsuit or file similar actions.

Robert A. Kahn, an attorney for Green Oasis, argued that the dispensary did nothing wrong, noting that, under state law, the moratorium expired 45 days after it was first enacted. “The did not believe they were violating the law,” he said.

You see, Californians decide to pass Prop 215 thirteen years ago.  The language left open the possibility of opening up dispensaries.  The people turned to California and said, “Oh, somewhat wise and kinda benevolent state government, what are the rules regarding dispensaries?”  The state replied, “Uh, homina homina homina, er, federal law, eh… well, it’s up to the cities and counties.”

So the people then turned to the cities and counties and said, “Can you tell us what the rules are regarding dispensaries?”  Oakland looked about and saw there were no rules, so they set about crafting some, working with the stakeholders in the process, and ended up with clearly-defined rules, rules that have led to world-class dispensary operations that restored blighted neighborhoods and approval by the dispensaries and the public of steep taxes on the dispensaries that improve the city’s fiscal status.

But other cities, like Los Angeles, said, “We don’t have any rules for it… but we don’t have any rules against it…” and refused to promulgate any guidance to the fledgling dispensary industry.  Some people honorably worked with officials and neighborhoods and businesses to create world-class dispensary operations, but far too many other people jumped into the dispensary business to thinly veil their marijuana dealing in the cloak of medical legitimacy.  As the number of dispensaries closed in on 200, Los Angeles said, “Whoa, hold up until we can figure out how to regulate this mess!” and issued a 45-day moratorium on any new dispensaries.

But since many of the dispensaries are lawfully operating under Prop 215, Los Angeles couldn’t just issue a blanket denial of all applications for new dispensaries, so they created a loophole on the moratorium called a “hardship exemption”, a loophole large enough to drive Cheech & Chong’s Nice Dreams van through it.  For two years Los Angeles sat on its thumbs, failing to craft any rules to govern the exploding dispensary industry.  Thus the industry is closing in on one thousand outlets, and as this judge wisely decided, Los Angeles can’t just ban them by relying on an expired 45-day moratorium with a huge loophole.

This is not the fault of the dispensary industry.  The good guys have always been interested in reasonable regulations and the carpetbagging weed dealers, well, they’re doing what entrepreneurs do in the absence of regulations (see also: AIG, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Goldman-Sachs, etc.)  This is a failure of local government to do its job in protecting the public and governing business, even with thirteen years and obvious licensing issues staring at them from Los Angeles Times headlines month after month.  Now the headlines generated by the “bad apples” (especially as DA Cooley gears up to bust them all) will paint a negative picture of medical marijuana and sully the reputations of the good guys out there in LA, when it’s really the local government’s fault for letting it get so out of hand.

On the bright side, Los Angeles’ ineptitude in allowing so many retail marijuana outlets may just make this all a moot point.  There may be so many of them and so many people accustomed to their convenience that closure of any of them will lead to enough popular backlash to pass outright legalization in 2010.