(Los Angeles Times) Dispensaries in Los Angeles could continue to accept cash for medical marijuana under a provision approved by the City Council on Tuesday, after it adopted language carefully crafted to maneuver past the city attorney’s adamant position that state law bars the sale of the drug.
The council, which avoided the word “sales” on the advice of its lawyers, decided that Los Angeles would allow “cash contributions, reimbursements and compensations” as long as they comply with state law.
City Atty. Carmen Trutanich and Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley had urged the council to explicitly ban the sale of marijuana.
Council members expressed a clear interest in caps, most likely distributed among the city’s 21 police divisions.
The council, though, remains unsure whether to give preference to the 186 dispensaries that registered with the city when the moratorium was adopted in 2007. Councilman Richard Alarcon said he saw nothing “magic” in the number, while Councilwoman Janice Hahn said it would be “fair and reasonable” to favor those who had followed the law.
The council also approved an amendment to limit operators to one dispensary and an amendment to limit patients and caregivers to membership in one collective, but allow for emergency purchases.
The restriction on membership drew protests from medical marijuana advocates. “If you go to your favorite dispensary, and they’re out of what you need, you have to go someplace else,” said Degé Coutee, the head of a patient group.
The council readily adopted a series of amendments, most of them … borrowed from West Hollywood, that added more protections for neighborhoods. Dispensaries would be required to have unarmed security guards who would patrol a two-block area, to provide a contact name to police and residents who live within 500 feet, and to deposit cash once a day.
The council also tangled over an amendment to put a $100,000 cap on salaries at dispensaries. It was offered by Alarcon, who said the dispensary downstairs from his office was making $12,000 a day.
The council decided to try to find another way to limit salaries, such as applying standards set by United Way.
Oh, what crazy hoops one must jump through to regulate legal sales of marijuana to just 5% of its customers while maintaining criminal sanctions for the other 95%. Every single problem the council addresses is a result of marijuana prohibition.
- Why so many dispensaries so quickly? Because people like marijuana and prohibition makes it hard to get, unless you can buy it at a dispensary.
- Why limit patients and caregivers to one collective? Because people like marijuana and prefer to shop around for the best experience.
- Why require unarmed security guards? Because prohibited marijuana is so expensive and most people can’t get it, which leads to theft and robbery.
- Why provide contacts to residents? Because prohibited marijuana means no place for people to go smoke it and a chance at making a buck reselling it.
- Why put caps on salaries? Because prohibited marijuana is worth so much that selling it can make you rich.
Patients and caregivers will always be subject to this sort of over-regulation so long as the majority of the market is prohibited. Can you imagine someone requiring you to shop at only one pharmacy? Have you ever heard of a liquor store required to give a contact name to all residents within 500 feet? Do you know of any neighborhood taverns that clear $12,000 per day? Let’s just regulate cannabis for all adults and we’ll see the prices drop along with the concomitant crime and patients and caregivers will have the greatest access to medicine possible.
[...] LA City Council does not explicitly ban medical marijuana sales [...]