Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga hopes regulating medical marijuana dispensaries will end the chronic confusion of how they operate.
At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Uranga will seek support from her City Council colleagues to direct City Attorney Robert Shannon and City Prosecutor Tom Reeves to develop specific criteria that will regulate present and future medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives, also known as dispensaries or clubs. The meeting is at 5 p.m. in Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.
Uranga also wants Shannon and Reeves to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the fiscal impact dispensaries have on any city services.
"We want to know where they are located, recoup any money for services the city is providing and regulate where they can operate," Uranga said. "I think they'll be at least as restrictive as liquor store recommendations."
Since Long Beach has not established its own standards for the dispensaries, nobody really knows how many exist, Uranga said.
About 25 clubs operate in Long Beach, according to the Web sites WeedTracker.com and CaNORML.org.
Dispensaries are supposed to operate under guidelines set forth last August by the state attorney general.
Those guidelines describe not only what cooperatives and collectives are, but also state they must be nonprofit operations, obtain a state seller's permit, maintain membership records and verify member status, prohibit distribution and sales to nonmembers and provide adequate security ensuring patients are safe and surrounding homes or businesses are not impacted by nuisance activity such as loitering or crime.
Collectives remain illegal under federal law, but U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said as long as they follow state law, dispensaries will not be raided by federal law enforcement agents.
Local dispensary operators and managers are in favor of the regulations, they said.
"The city's nonaction is causing a problem," said Matt Abrams, a co-manager at One Evol on Broadway near Temple Avenue. "The more regulations we have, the more legitimate the collectives are."
One Evol — "Love" spelled backwards — has a Long Beach retail business license and state Board of Equalization seller's permit.
The best example why regulations are needed is found in Long Beach's back yard, says Aaron Smith, California policy director with the Marijuana Policy Project, which lobbies for marijuana regulation.
"Los Angeles has a proliferation of facilities, and it's hard for the city to track where they are operating," Smith said.
Los Angeles might have as many as 600 dispensaries, but nobody knows for sure, according to published reports.
"It's up to city's to permit them and provide regulatory framework," he said. "It's not every day you see an industry standing up and saying regulate us."
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: contracostatimes.com
Author: Phillip Zonkel and Brian M. Cuaron
Copyright: 2009 Bay Area News Group
Contact: Contact Us - ContraCostaTimes.com
Website: https://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_12980760
At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Uranga will seek support from her City Council colleagues to direct City Attorney Robert Shannon and City Prosecutor Tom Reeves to develop specific criteria that will regulate present and future medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives, also known as dispensaries or clubs. The meeting is at 5 p.m. in Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.
Uranga also wants Shannon and Reeves to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the fiscal impact dispensaries have on any city services.
"We want to know where they are located, recoup any money for services the city is providing and regulate where they can operate," Uranga said. "I think they'll be at least as restrictive as liquor store recommendations."
Since Long Beach has not established its own standards for the dispensaries, nobody really knows how many exist, Uranga said.
About 25 clubs operate in Long Beach, according to the Web sites WeedTracker.com and CaNORML.org.
Dispensaries are supposed to operate under guidelines set forth last August by the state attorney general.
Those guidelines describe not only what cooperatives and collectives are, but also state they must be nonprofit operations, obtain a state seller's permit, maintain membership records and verify member status, prohibit distribution and sales to nonmembers and provide adequate security ensuring patients are safe and surrounding homes or businesses are not impacted by nuisance activity such as loitering or crime.
Collectives remain illegal under federal law, but U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said as long as they follow state law, dispensaries will not be raided by federal law enforcement agents.
Local dispensary operators and managers are in favor of the regulations, they said.
"The city's nonaction is causing a problem," said Matt Abrams, a co-manager at One Evol on Broadway near Temple Avenue. "The more regulations we have, the more legitimate the collectives are."
One Evol — "Love" spelled backwards — has a Long Beach retail business license and state Board of Equalization seller's permit.
The best example why regulations are needed is found in Long Beach's back yard, says Aaron Smith, California policy director with the Marijuana Policy Project, which lobbies for marijuana regulation.
"Los Angeles has a proliferation of facilities, and it's hard for the city to track where they are operating," Smith said.
Los Angeles might have as many as 600 dispensaries, but nobody knows for sure, according to published reports.
"It's up to city's to permit them and provide regulatory framework," he said. "It's not every day you see an industry standing up and saying regulate us."
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: contracostatimes.com
Author: Phillip Zonkel and Brian M. Cuaron
Copyright: 2009 Bay Area News Group
Contact: Contact Us - ContraCostaTimes.com
Website: https://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_12980760
