Spliff Twister
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Lawndale City Council members this week quickly shot down a proposal to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, opting instead to direct staff to look into banning the establishments altogether.
Without much discussion on the topic, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to reject the recommendation from the Planning Commission that it adopt the ordinance regulating dispensaries, praised by one medical marijuana advocate for being the most comprehensive set of regulations he had ever seen.
"This ordinance covers everything," said Chris Fusco, a field coordinator for medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, before the council's decision. "I think it perfectly addresses the concerns of the community and the needs of medical cannabis patients."
The ordinance would have required dispensaries not be located within 600 feet of schools, playgrounds, parks, churches and similar community centers; that they close before 7 p.m.; that they not allow minors without a parent; and that they have security guards to patrol the dispensary and a two-block radius surrounding it. Patrons must immediately leave the site and not consume medical marijuana until they return home.
Councilman Larry Rudolph made the motion to reject the ordinance and instead look into a ban.
"I don't think it's appropriate anywhere," he said, adding that because other South Bay cities have banned them, Lawndale would become a magnet for dispensaries. He said he believed drugs would get in the hands of children and that it was too easy to get a doctor's recommendation.
"Until the court sorts this one out, I don't want one here," he said, referring to the conflict between state law, which permits usage of the drug by "seriously ill" patients with doctors' recommendations, and federal law, which classifies the drug as a controlled substance.
Dispensaries have recently met with a cold reception in the South Bay, with Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach issuing temporary or permanent bans. Lawndale in June enacted a temporary ban on the establishments.
The regulations Lawndale rejected would have prohibited alcohol, allowed the distribution of plant cuttings, and limited the amount of marijuana provided to individuals to amounts consistent with state law, a provision Fusco said showed foresight. Many of the regulations were similar to those approved in May by Los Angeles County supervisors for unincorporated areas of the county.
City staff disagreed with the Planning Commission on one point, recommending prohibiting the consumption of marijuana on dispensary property.
Two Lawndale residents spoke in opposition of marijuana dispensaries, and two others spoke in support.
Bob Burrill of San Pedro, who with his wife had hoped to open a dispensary in Lawndale, said on-site consumption is necessary for employees and volunteers because many are patients themselves.
"This is not like a bartender who drinks on the job. It's more like a pharmacist who needs to take Vicodin during the day (to deal with pain)," he said.
Burrill said a typical dispensary has three rooms: a waiting room, a dispensing room and an office for employees.
The last would be the only place where employees would be allowed to consume marijuana through vaporizers or in edible form, but not smoking, he said.
Months ago, the city learned of two dispensaries operating in the city without business licenses.
"The Lawndale Collective," which operated from a Hawthorne Boulevard storefront, left about two months ago after being cited by city code enforcement officials for violating the moratorium, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said.
The other dispensary left town before the city took enforcement action.
Newshawk: Spliff Twister - 420 Magazine
Source: Daily Breeze Los Angeles (CA)
Pubdate: Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Author: Shirley Hsu
Copyright: ©2006 Copley Press, Inc
Contact: letters@dailybreeze.com
Website: The Daily Breeze - www.dailybreeze.com
Without much discussion on the topic, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to reject the recommendation from the Planning Commission that it adopt the ordinance regulating dispensaries, praised by one medical marijuana advocate for being the most comprehensive set of regulations he had ever seen.
"This ordinance covers everything," said Chris Fusco, a field coordinator for medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, before the council's decision. "I think it perfectly addresses the concerns of the community and the needs of medical cannabis patients."
The ordinance would have required dispensaries not be located within 600 feet of schools, playgrounds, parks, churches and similar community centers; that they close before 7 p.m.; that they not allow minors without a parent; and that they have security guards to patrol the dispensary and a two-block radius surrounding it. Patrons must immediately leave the site and not consume medical marijuana until they return home.
Councilman Larry Rudolph made the motion to reject the ordinance and instead look into a ban.
"I don't think it's appropriate anywhere," he said, adding that because other South Bay cities have banned them, Lawndale would become a magnet for dispensaries. He said he believed drugs would get in the hands of children and that it was too easy to get a doctor's recommendation.
"Until the court sorts this one out, I don't want one here," he said, referring to the conflict between state law, which permits usage of the drug by "seriously ill" patients with doctors' recommendations, and federal law, which classifies the drug as a controlled substance.
Dispensaries have recently met with a cold reception in the South Bay, with Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach issuing temporary or permanent bans. Lawndale in June enacted a temporary ban on the establishments.
The regulations Lawndale rejected would have prohibited alcohol, allowed the distribution of plant cuttings, and limited the amount of marijuana provided to individuals to amounts consistent with state law, a provision Fusco said showed foresight. Many of the regulations were similar to those approved in May by Los Angeles County supervisors for unincorporated areas of the county.
City staff disagreed with the Planning Commission on one point, recommending prohibiting the consumption of marijuana on dispensary property.
Two Lawndale residents spoke in opposition of marijuana dispensaries, and two others spoke in support.
Bob Burrill of San Pedro, who with his wife had hoped to open a dispensary in Lawndale, said on-site consumption is necessary for employees and volunteers because many are patients themselves.
"This is not like a bartender who drinks on the job. It's more like a pharmacist who needs to take Vicodin during the day (to deal with pain)," he said.
Burrill said a typical dispensary has three rooms: a waiting room, a dispensing room and an office for employees.
The last would be the only place where employees would be allowed to consume marijuana through vaporizers or in edible form, but not smoking, he said.
Months ago, the city learned of two dispensaries operating in the city without business licenses.
"The Lawndale Collective," which operated from a Hawthorne Boulevard storefront, left about two months ago after being cited by city code enforcement officials for violating the moratorium, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said.
The other dispensary left town before the city took enforcement action.
Newshawk: Spliff Twister - 420 Magazine
Source: Daily Breeze Los Angeles (CA)
Pubdate: Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Author: Shirley Hsu
Copyright: ©2006 Copley Press, Inc
Contact: letters@dailybreeze.com
Website: The Daily Breeze - www.dailybreeze.com
