Dispensaries

​The oldest group that represents the political interests of L.A. marijuana dispensaries is getting behind a statewide voter initiative that would provide tighter government control of pot shops.

Say what?

An alliance of cannabis collectives is actually in favor of greater California regulation? Yes, and here's why:

Pot shops in L.A. and across California are against the ropes. In Los Angeles they're on the verge of being banned altogether. Dispensaries seem to want to show that they can be safe and legal.

The Medical Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act would not only tax, license and regulate pot shops, it would create a Bureau of Medical Marijuana Enforcement to make sure they follow the rules.

One of the proposed initiative's authors is none other than longtime dispensary advocate Don Duncan.

The Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA) this week says it's all for the initiative. Who's a longtime affiliate of the group? Don Duncan. (He's even listed as a contact on the press release announcing the org's support for the statewide proposal.)

GLACA only lists 13 "affiliated collectives" on its website, but it has been a relatively powerful voice when the L.A. City Council takes up the issue of regulating the 500 or so pot shops in town. City Hall's latest move, still in progress, is to ban them all.

The group's president, Yami Bolanos, says this:

"We see this voter initiative as a necessary step in protecting patients, local access to medicine, and our communities."

The org is putting $50,000 behind the effort, which still needs to gather valid signatures to get on the ballot. Would you vote for it?

​San Francisco has begun issuing medical marijuana dispensary licenses again, following a recent state Supreme court decision that will allow local pot dispensaries to do business -- for now. 

The city's Medical Cannabis Act permitting process had been on hold for several months, following a state appeals court ruling in Pack vs. Long Beach. The ruling said that city or county laws regulating medical marijuana violated federal law; the decision led cities and counties throughout the state to suspend, reconsider, or repeal their regulatory schemes.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal, and while that's being considered, the lower court's ruling has become invalidated, a spokesman for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said Friday. That means the Department of Public Health's medical marijuana permits can continue as normal, and several proposed San Francisco dispensaries waiting in the wings can finally receive city approval to do business. 

But there's rumors that the Justice Department is considering suing cities that regulate state-legal marijuana. If that happens, it could be game over -- again.

But this state court decision hasn't had nearly the impact of the United States Attorneys' coordinated crackdown, which has forced hundreds of dispensaries in San Diego, Sacramento, and the Bay Area to close. Not every city or county in California halted permitting pot clubs as a result of the court decision -- Oakland, for example, charged ahead with reviewing applications for up to four new permits in the city. 

Nonetheless, San Francisco will "continue processing permits under the City ordinance, pending a decision by the Supreme Court," City Attorney spokesman Jack Song wrote in an e-mail. "Department of Public Health has resumed its processing of permits." 

At least four new proposed medical marijuana dispensaries had hearings before the Planning Commission -- one of the last hurdles to clear before a new storefront pot club can begin business -- delayed because of the Pack decision, including three on Mission Street in the Excelsior District. The Green Cross -- which is currently delivery only -- has its permit hearing on Feb. 16, but has asked city planners to move it to an earlier date. The dispensary's hearing was originaly scheduled for October.

The outlier at this point is the Justice Department. Letters from U.S. Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag have led five San Francisco dispensaries to shut their doors. An anonymous source told California Watch's Michael Montgomery that Haag was considering suing Mendocino County, which issues licenses and collects permit inspection fees for growers of up to 99 plants under county law. There was fear that the Pack decision would suspend that program -- but the feds could end it entirely.

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider its 9.31 program -- so named for the section of civil code which allows it -- at its meeting Tuesday.

PORTLAND, Maine — A state health official says plans by the operators of a medical marijuana dispensary scheduled to open in Portland next month to include a coffee bar, acupuncture clinic and "vapor lounge" at the facility run afoul of state rules.

John Thiele of the Health and Human Services Department says a dispensary with such amenities would violate state regulations aimed at ensuring that dispensaries are places to get medicine for serious illnesses, not places to "hang out."

John Thiele of the Health and Human Services Department says a dispensary with such amenities would violate state regulations aimed at ensuring that dispensaries are places to get medicine for serious illnesses, not places to "hang out."

He tells The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/vfodRR) creating a social setting for the dispensation of medical marijuana is unhealthy because it promotes more marijuana use than is medically necessary.

The operator, Wellness Connection of Maine, could not be reached for comment. Their two other dispensaries in Maine

The Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the oldest dispensary of its kind in the state, quietly shut down over the weekend, the victim of a federal crackdown.

"They moved out of the premises just before 2 a.m. on Sunday morning," said Peter Goldstone, a Santa Rosa attorney who has represented the Alliance, and its operator, Lynnette Shaw, in an eviction proceeding that was brought by the Alliance's landlord. Shaw could not be reached for comment.

The landlord, Farshid Ezazi of Orinda, initiated the eviction proceeding after Melinda Haag, the San Francisco-based U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, threatened to confiscate the building in which the Alliance operated at 6 School St. in Fairfax. The Fairfax dispensary is among dozens statewide that federal prosecutors say they have targeted due to the dispensaries' proximity to parks, schools and other facilities used by children.

The Marin Wellness Center, a medical marijuana dispensary at 1100 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Kentfield, is also being forced to close by Jan. 1 due to pressure applied to its landlord by federal authorities. A third dispensary, the Green Door Wellness Education Center at 7586 Redwood Blvd. Suite C in Novato, is battling an eviction proceeding brought by its landlord and is awaiting a Marin Superior Court judge's decision after a one-day trial on the eviction last week.

Shaw had previously said that she would seek to continue storing thousandsof patients' medical records at the School Street site. She said she had nowhere else to put them. But Goldstone said the records have been removed.

"My understanding is that it is what they call broom-clean, and they've turned over the keys," Goldstone said.

The federal government began the process of confiscating the School Street building on Nov. 18, even though Ezazi had already initiated court action to evict the Marin Alliance. Robert Weems, Ezazi's attorney, said his client filed court papers last week formally acknowledging ownership of the 6 School St. property, a step he had to take if he hopes to retain ownership. Weems said the Marin Alliance's closure should strengthen Ezazi's case.

"We think it is significant that possession has been returned to us," Weems said. Ezazi can now file a motion to dismiss the forfeiture proceeding or opt for a trial, Weems said.

Shaw, who has always shared information freely about the Alliance's long-standing legal battles, stopped responding to questions from the press earlier this month, saying that she was "in great danger" and had to end her relationship with the Alliance, which she helped found.

A message on the Alliance's website announcing the closure states, "We are very sorry to announce that we have shut our doors until we can resolve certain legal issues. The battle is not over, but we must await further court action that will allow us to reopen, hopefully within a month or two. Unfortunately, our owner and director, Lynnette Shaw, finds it best to sever her relationship with Marin Alliance."

It was not entirely clear why Shaw believes she can no longer be associated with the Alliance. It may be significant, however, that the complaint for forfeiture filed by federal prosecutors against the 6 School St. site mentions that in 2002 "the District Court issued an order permanently enjoining the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and Lynette Shaw from engaging in the distribution of marijuana... ."

It was also uncertain where patients who were obtaining their medical marijuana from the Marin Alliance will go now.

Fairfax Town Manager Michael Rock said no one from the Alliance has contacted the town about seeking an alternative site. Rock has said the Alliance cannot legally operate a delivery service under its use permit without an approved office in town.

Barbara Summers of Mill Valley, who uses medical marijuana to treat sciatica, anxiety and to help her sleep, said she is "very disappointed" that the Fairfax club closed.

"I had discovered it fairly recently, and it was saving me a trip into San Francisco," Summers said.

Summers said the federal crackdown is "bogus."

"When Obama took office, he said he wasn't going to go after anything like this. That wasn't how he was going to spend our tax dollars," Summers said. "I feel like it's a campaign move and nothing else."

PLEASURE POINT - About $1,000 and 10 pounds of marijuana was stolen from Herbal Cruz marijuana dispensary Thursday night, and sheriff's deputies said they are searching for three suspects.

Two men wearing black hooded sweatshirts, gloves and "carnival" masks with black eyes and red lips entered the store about 8 p.m., said deputy April Skalland.

At least one man had a handgun and demanded cash from the register, Skalland said. Deputies said the men left with cash and plastic bins with marijuana in them. They stuffed them in the trunk of a compact, silver car and fled with a third man who drove.

The car's license plate was covered with a piece of paper, Skalland said. Both men in the dispensary were about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, deputies said.

Authorities are reviewing surveillance footage from the dispensary.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office asks anyone with information to call the investigations division at 454-2311 or the anonymous tip line at 454-5995. 

Could a large scale medical marijuana crackdown be coming to Colorado like the one seen in California? That's exactly what a law enforcement official told The Associated Press is being considered for Colorado next year. The official did not want to be identified and did not provide specific details because the the matter is still under review.

CBS4 discovered that warning letters -- similar to those that were sent out in California -- will go out to dispensaries and grow facilities near schools (within 1,000 feet) and would be given 45 days to shut down or move their place of operations or face prosecution by U.S. Attorney in Colorado John Walsh. However, CBS4 also reported that it's unclear when that process would begin and Walsh has not released a statement on the matter since it was first reported.

The reasoning behind the 1,000 foot boundary stems from federal law which uses that measurement as a factor in drug crime sentencing. There are many dispensaries in Colorado that are within 1,000 feet of schools, according to High Times, because they were approved by local laws to do so. However, the federal law would trump the state law if and when a federal crackdown would begin.

All of this comes just days after a new poll was released by Public Policy Polling that a large group of Coloradans believe that marijuana should not just be legal medically, but fully legalized. From the Public Policy report:

Coloradans are even more strongly in favor of legalizing marijuana, and they overwhelmingly believe it at least should be available for medical purposes. 49% think marijuana use should generally be legal, and 40% illegal. But explicitly for medical use, that rises to a 68-25 spread. Just five years ago, a referendum to legalize simple possession by people over 21 failed by 20 points. On the medical question, Democratic support rises from 64% for general use to 78%; Republicans rise from 30% to 50%, and independents from 54% to 75%.

The Colorado Independent reports that the Public Policy Polling data "flies in the face of statements made by a number of legislators over the past year that if voters knew what they were in for, they would never have approved medical marijuana in the first place." Art Way, Colorado manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, went even further telling the Independent that, "decision-makers and elected officials really just don't have the pulse of the people they represent. The average person considers the federal position that marijuana has 'no medical value' to be a joke."

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) echoed a similar sentiment when he told HuffPost, "There are more pressing issues facing federal law enforcement so it makes no sense for them to waste time and taxpayer money interfering with state-legal businesses that voters have approved, that are well-regulated, and that generate jobs and economic activity. Colorado has the nation’s strictest regulatory system, which means our dispensaries operate transparently and legitimately. I should hope that the federal government would focus its resources on keeping Americans safe from crime rather than interfering with a legal business that benefits Colorado’s economy.”

Despite all this pressure from the feds, the Campaign To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a collective of marijuana activist groups and individuals including SAFER, Sensible Colorado, NORML and others are still pushing for an initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Colorado for the 2012 state ballot.

The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 would make the personal use, possession and limited home-growing of marijuana legal for adults aged 21 and older. It establishes a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol is currently. The act also would allow for the cultivation, procesing, and sale of industrial hemp.