Truth Seeker
New Member
The fate of a stalled petition drive to overturn the city's medical marijuana ban could be decided soon.
The Long Beach Citizens' and Patients' Rights political action committee filed petitions with 43,159 signatures in February to place an initiative on a special election ballot similar to the medical marijuana regulations the City Council passed in 2010.
However, City Clerk Larry Herrera conducted a random sample of 3 percent of the signatures and found that only 31,294 signatures were valid, short of the 15 percent, or 33,543 registered voters required for a special election.
The PAC sued, and a preliminary injunction to be considered Sept. 9 in federal court in Los Angeles seeks to force Long Beach to count all the signatures or place the measure on the April primary ballot, which would only need signatures from 10 percent of voters.
Herrera and the city's legal advisers say because the petition asked for a special election, the signatures must be thrown out because California's election code states that if a petition is found insufficient, no action can be taken on it.
"It's not clear to us that we have the authority to disregard what the initiative asked for and just put it on the general election since they didn't ask for that," said City Attorney Charles Parkin.
Gautam Dutta, the plaintiff's attorney, called the stance "completely undemocratic."
He claimed the specific wording in the petition doesn't matter.
"There's nothing magical about the language," Dutta said.
Additionally, Dutta said 18 signatures overturned by Herrera should have been counted, with seven of the signatures tossed due to clerical errors and 11 because the signees moved to another area of Long Beach and reregistered to vote.
If those signatures were counted, both sides acknowledge the total number of valid signatures in the sample would exceed the threshold triggering a full signature check.
One of the plaintiff's in the lawsuit, Jeremy Coltharp, said the city has refused to work with the group to find a solution.
"This is not a marijuana issue now," said Coltharp. "We feel that the city is not allowing the citizens to speak (by) allowing them to vote."
Long Beach used zoning law to ban cannabis collectives of three or more people in February 2012. The decision came following a court ruling that the city's rules for regulating the industry violated federal law.
On Thursday, the Justice Department said it would not sue to block laws legalizing marijuana in states and the District of Columbia. The move was hailed as a step toward legalizing the drug.
Fifth District City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, who is running for mayor, said in a statement that the city has in the past been "rightfully" concerned about the conflict between state and federal law regarding medical marijuana.
But with the Justice Department action, Schipske said, "It is now time for the city of Long Beach to revisit the issue of how the Compassionate Use Act can be implemented in the city through a strong and effective regulatory and enforcement system that protects the seriously ill and their caregivers while at the same time complies with the federal priorities to prevent criminal enterprises."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: presstelegram.com
Author: Eric Bradley
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Court hearing could decide fate of Long Beach medical marijuana petition
The Long Beach Citizens' and Patients' Rights political action committee filed petitions with 43,159 signatures in February to place an initiative on a special election ballot similar to the medical marijuana regulations the City Council passed in 2010.
However, City Clerk Larry Herrera conducted a random sample of 3 percent of the signatures and found that only 31,294 signatures were valid, short of the 15 percent, or 33,543 registered voters required for a special election.
The PAC sued, and a preliminary injunction to be considered Sept. 9 in federal court in Los Angeles seeks to force Long Beach to count all the signatures or place the measure on the April primary ballot, which would only need signatures from 10 percent of voters.
Herrera and the city's legal advisers say because the petition asked for a special election, the signatures must be thrown out because California's election code states that if a petition is found insufficient, no action can be taken on it.
"It's not clear to us that we have the authority to disregard what the initiative asked for and just put it on the general election since they didn't ask for that," said City Attorney Charles Parkin.
Gautam Dutta, the plaintiff's attorney, called the stance "completely undemocratic."
He claimed the specific wording in the petition doesn't matter.
"There's nothing magical about the language," Dutta said.
Additionally, Dutta said 18 signatures overturned by Herrera should have been counted, with seven of the signatures tossed due to clerical errors and 11 because the signees moved to another area of Long Beach and reregistered to vote.
If those signatures were counted, both sides acknowledge the total number of valid signatures in the sample would exceed the threshold triggering a full signature check.
One of the plaintiff's in the lawsuit, Jeremy Coltharp, said the city has refused to work with the group to find a solution.
"This is not a marijuana issue now," said Coltharp. "We feel that the city is not allowing the citizens to speak (by) allowing them to vote."
Long Beach used zoning law to ban cannabis collectives of three or more people in February 2012. The decision came following a court ruling that the city's rules for regulating the industry violated federal law.
On Thursday, the Justice Department said it would not sue to block laws legalizing marijuana in states and the District of Columbia. The move was hailed as a step toward legalizing the drug.
Fifth District City Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, who is running for mayor, said in a statement that the city has in the past been "rightfully" concerned about the conflict between state and federal law regarding medical marijuana.
But with the Justice Department action, Schipske said, "It is now time for the city of Long Beach to revisit the issue of how the Compassionate Use Act can be implemented in the city through a strong and effective regulatory and enforcement system that protects the seriously ill and their caregivers while at the same time complies with the federal priorities to prevent criminal enterprises."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: presstelegram.com
Author: Eric Bradley
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Court hearing could decide fate of Long Beach medical marijuana petition
