LA Chief Calls State Marijuana Laws 'Looney Tunes'

[Jim Finnel]

Police Chief William Bratton called on the City Council to speed up the drafting of stricter regulations on medical marijuana clinics, calling current state law "Looney Tunes."

Bratton also termed as unfortunate the new Obama administration policy of targeting marijuana dispensaries only when they violate both federal and state law, instead of just federal law.

"I think that the policy of the federal government at this time is unfortunate," the chief told a press conference Wednesday. "I think the policy of this state is 'Looney Tunes.'"

The city passed a moratorium on new marijuana dispensaries in September 2007 in order to draft regulations to operate the clinics.

"They pass a law, then they have no regulations as to how to enforce the darn thing and, as a result, we have hundreds of these locations selling drugs to every Tom, Dick and Harry," Bratton said.

California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, making it legal for people suffering from certain ailments to grow, smoke and possess marijuana upon a doctor's recommendation.

In 2003, the state set up a system for issuing ID cards to those with "prescriptions" for medicinal marijuana, but many claim the system has been abused and is out of control.

"While I fully support its use for medicinal purposes, why don't we regulate it like we do Lipitor or Viagra," Bratton said. "You can't buy those two without getting it through a legitimate pharmacy. If this drug is so important and so helpful, why is it not regulated like every other drug?"


News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2009 Associated Press
Contact: Help - San Jose Mercury News
Website: https://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12056351

 

[Weed420]

Everybody's getting frustrated. Just legalize it and the whole problrm disappears. Whats the worse than can happen? Wide spread use? Then whats the worse that can happen? Wide spread afternoon naps and a huge increase in nachos sales.lollol

 

[Keith Lake]

Yeah, I was starting to not like the police chief too much until he surprised me at the end of the article with legalize and regulate comments

 

[FreakNature]

Hey Soniq420 way to have a positive attitude! I didn't read it that way. Of course I already had an opinion after reading the title and before the thread opened on my computer - "Nice to know the Chief's opinion is more important than the will of the people he serves".

This quote got me - such a fact based statement:

"They pass a law, then they have no regulations as to how to enforce the darn thing and, as a result, we have hundreds of these locations selling drugs to every Tom, Dick and Harry," Bratton said.

Hundreds? Selling only to people named Tom, Dick, and Harry?

Then with regard to MMJ he wants to regulate it more like pharmaceuticals that can kill you? This is his personal bias against Cannabis talking. I don't see him suggesting additional legalization.

Gotta go...

 

[tonystarks]

Anyone who compares herb to VIAGRA is a fucking moron. There is no RX drug safer nor cheaper to produce than cannabis. Call Obama and let him know you support legalizing herb (202)456-1111. THEY DO NOT WANT YOU TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF NOR YOUR LOCATION, JUST YOUR COMMENTS

 

[Keith Lake]

This quote got me - such a fact based statement:

Hundreds? Selling only to people named Tom, Dick, and Harry?

Damn, I'm going to need to change my name again

 

[Jim Finnel]

i will restrain myself from making tom dick and harry jokes

 

[FreakNature]

That's OK, just thinking about it made me laugh.

 

[Slowpuffer]

Right on Chief,
That's the same thing we all want, Regulate it and sell it at the drug store and tax it. I'm sure that you did'nt realize what you said when you said it, but you could'nt have said it any better !! I'm happy to hear that LA has such a liberal minded police chief !! Keep up the good work chief !!
Next thing we know, he'll be looking for real criminals !!

 

[ADarkerBreed]

regulation for medicinal use does make a bit of sense, there is actually a famous doctor in Israel who has been attempting to mainstream and revolutionize medicinal marijuana.
However I believe the uses of it far outweigh medicine and I think full legalization would take care of that

 

[tricome]

You can't regulate Mother Nature. LOL

 

[TorturedSoul]

Yeah, I was starting to not like the police chief too much until he surprised me at the end of the article with legalize and regulate comments

I am not in the LA location so I cannot say whether his frustrations and concerns are warranted. Common sense tells me that many, especially most dispensary owners, would be doing their utmost to walk the line.

Still, if that environment is TOTALLY without some individuals who are greedy enough to attempt to bend, circumvent, or disregard the letter of the laws, to attempt to find any loophole that they can take advantage of, or even just to disregard the spirit of the laws and/or not consider the affects that their actions may have on individuals or society...

Well, I suspect that would be a first since humankind first started doodling on caves.

LEO's job is not to be an activist so much as to enforce (without bias or discrimination) every law that the society she/he lives in. It's kind of part of the whole fight against anarchy and to help hold the society together.

It appears to me that he wants the laws further defined so that he can do the job that he has correctly and without having to form policy based on his interpretations of them.

I applaud him for that. And for publicly stating what he did in the following quote:

Bratton also termed as unfortunate the new Obama administration policy of targeting marijuana dispensaries only when they violate both federal and state law, instead of just federal law.

"I think that the policy of the federal government at this time is unfortunate," the chief told a press conference Wednesday. "I think the policy of this state is 'Looney Tunes.'"

Think about it. Whether you see the whole MMJ/MJ issue as being a states' rights issue or a federal one, the federal government has laws that state that certain acts are COMPLETELY illegal (against federal laws, which is what they should be concerned with).

And yet it seems to be unwritten (I have not heard about any official legislative acts or even a signed Executive Order from our CiC) policy for the federal government to enforce its laws in one area of its jurisdiction and to NOT do so in another!

You may feel that the current MJ laws at the federal level are unconstitutional. You may not. But it seems to me that when the federal government applies such "patchwork targeting" to its own laws, whatever the reason...

That we have a constitutional crisis right there!

I strongly feel that MJ/MMJ ought to be legalized, and for a variety of reasons - although I also feel that it should receive at least a minimum amount of regulation because there IS the potential for abuses related to it from the moment the seed is germinated right through to the end-user.

But I also am absolutely certain that the federal government needs to - is REQUIRED to - enforce its laws fairly and without discrimination or favor to ALL of the citizens that it holds sovereignty over!

(There is more that I wanted to "say" about this issue, but I am suffering from a fit of apoplexy and I really need to calm down for a while.)

___
"They say legalize it for medicinal but not recreational purposes. I say the ability for any reasoning non-sociopathic being to experience recreation from time to time IS medicinal and a requirement for said being's continued mental, physical, and spiritual health."