CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 30, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Friday ordered an Eagle Rock dispensary to stop selling medical marijuana in a decision city prosecutors believe is the first to conclude that state law does not allow collectives to sell the drug. Judge James C. Chalfant's preliminary injunction applies only to Hemp Factory V, a small outlet on Colorado Boulevard near the Glendale border, but would have a dramatic impact on how medical marijuana is distributed if a higher court upholds it. The decision came in the pretrial phase of the city's lawsuit against the dispensary.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 29, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
Proponents of an initiative to make California the first state to legalize marijuana have collected about 693,800 signatures, virtually guaranteeing that the measure will appear on a crowded November ballot. "This is a historic first step toward ending cannabis prohibition," said Richard Lee, the measure's main backer. Advocates, trailed by television cameras and photographers, dropped off petitions with elections officials in the state's largest counties, including Los Angeles, where organizers said 143,105 voters signed.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 27, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
The Los Angeles City Council, without debate, gave final approval Tuesday to a medical marijuana ordinance that will impose some of the toughest rules in the state but was assailed by advocates who said the law will drastically restrict access to the drug. The measure, which was finally passed more than 4 1/2 years after the council started to discuss the issue, will do little to calm the contentious debate over how Los Angeles should restrain a dispensary boom that has seen hundreds of pot stores cluster on the city's major boulevards.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 22, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
In a unanimous decision filed Thursday, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's specific limits on how much medical marijuana a patient can possess, concluding that restrictions imposed by the Legislature were an unconstitutional amendment of a voter-approved initiative. The decision, which affirmed an appellate decision, means people who have a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana can possess and cultivate as much as is "reasonably necessary." The court invalidated a provision of a 2003 state law passed to clarify the initiative.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 21, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
In a unanimous decision filed Thursday, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's specific limits on how much medical marijuana a patient can possess, concluding that restrictions imposed by the Legislature were an unconstitutional amendment of a voter-approved initiative. The decision, which affirmed an appellate decision, means people who have a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana can possess and cultivate as much as is "reasonably necessary." The court invalidated a provision of a 2003 state law passed to clarify the initiative.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 19, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to adopt a comprehensive medical marijuana ordinance that clamps strict controls on dispensaries, which have spread with a velocity that stunned city officials and angered some residents. Settling the last controversial issue on its list, the council decided to require the stores to locate at least 1,000 feet from so-called sensitive uses, such as schools, parks, libraries and other dispensaries. The decision to reject a 500-foot setback reflected the council's intent to write the most restrictive rules that would still allow dispensaries.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 14, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
The Los Angeles City Council decided Wednesday to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries next to residences, but rejected a proposal to keep them at least 500 feet away, which would have drastically limited the available locations. The council, however, put off a vote on the last contentious issue until Tuesday, when it will decide whether dispensaries must be 500 feet or 1,000 feet from so-called sensitive uses, such as schools, parks and religious institutions. After a monthlong hiatus from the issue, the council had been expected to vote on the ordinance Wednesday.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 12, 2010 | By Patrick McGreevy
A proposal to legalize and tax marijuana in California was approved by a key committee of the Assembly on Tuesday, but it is not expected to get further consideration by the Legislature until next year. Despite a procedural glitch, backers hailed the committee's action as historic because it represented the first legislative approval of the proposal. "This vote marks the formal beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition in the United States," predicted Stephen Gutwillig, California state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a pot legalization group.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 9, 2010 | By Gerrick Kennedy
With the debate on medical marijuana still at a full boil in Los Angeles, a judge Friday ordered the return of 60 pounds of pot to a man after his attorneys successfully argued that a state law gave him the right to transport it. Saguro Doven, 33, was initially charged with possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of the drug, a violation of the state's health and safety code. The marijuana was bundled in individual bags that were tucked inside a larger duffel bag when Doven was pulled over on the 101 Freeway by a California Highway Patrol officer, according to court records.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 6, 2010 | By John Hoeffel
Prosecutors in Los Angeles insist that collectives cannot sell medical marijuana at their stores and can provide it only to members who actively cultivate it together. Dispensary operators, on the other hand, argue that it is absurd to expect them to run Soviet-style collective farms and to rule out cash payments for pot. When the Los Angeles City Council finishes its marijuana ordinance, which may finally happen this month, it is likely to inflame this increasingly contentious debate over how the drug can be distributed.