Less than two weeks from the day Los Angeles' medical marijuana ordinance will close over 400 unregistered dispensaries, court orders against the law are making their way to the courtroom – so far, without any luck.
The Los Angeles Times reports (via Reason.com) that four dispensaries' temporary restraining orders against the law were denied. Without a court order allowing businesses to temporarily stop the city from shutting them down, shop owners could face daily fines and arrest. The four shops are part of 44 medical marijuana dispensaries that have filed two lawsuits against the city. In early May, nearly 450 medical marijuana dispensaries were notified they would have to close June 7, the day the ordinance takes effect.
Los Angeles has struggled for years to regulate the city's medical marijuana industry – much like Sacramento, Colorado Springs, several Montana cities and many others. But more so than any other city, Los Angeles has been a hot spot for the sale of medical marijuana, largely because businesses have remained fairly unregulated. At one point, according to an AP article, the city had more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks. Then, complaints started pouring in from residents concerned with their neighborhoods and city officials began to worry.
Under the new ordinance, which the city been working on in January,
only shops that registered with the city before a November 2007 moratorium will be allowed to operate. But Brian Doherty at Reason points out that a judge declared the moratorium legally void in 2009. Owners that do not close their businesses June 7 could face a misdemeanor charge, six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. They could also face civil penalties of $2,500 a day. City officials have estimated that close to 130 stores will be allowed to stay open. Those businesses will have to adhere to a number of other regulations under the ordinance and then apply to operate legally.
Though city officials believed authorizing the court orders might encourage other dispensaries to take similar actions, Wednesday's failure could have gone much different, had another judge – someone who's been critical of the way the city handled medical marijuana shops – taken the case. Instead, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe denied the temporary restraining orders. "The temporary restraining order is denied, again, and for the last time," Yaffe said.
According to the LA Times, dispensaries aren't the only ones filing lawsuits. Attorney Stewart Richlin filed nine lawsuits this week to seek court orders to halt enforcement of the ordinance; Eric Shevin, another attorney, plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of medical marijuana patients and pursue an order to bar Los Angeles from enforcing the ordinance. In the coming months, the city of Los Angeles will face a tough, and costly, legal battle to protect its law.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Campus Progress
Author: Julissa Treviño
Contact: Campus Progress
Copyright: 2010 Campus Progress
Website: Medical Marijuana Shops vs. The City of Los Angeles: The Fight Continues
The Los Angeles Times reports (via Reason.com) that four dispensaries' temporary restraining orders against the law were denied. Without a court order allowing businesses to temporarily stop the city from shutting them down, shop owners could face daily fines and arrest. The four shops are part of 44 medical marijuana dispensaries that have filed two lawsuits against the city. In early May, nearly 450 medical marijuana dispensaries were notified they would have to close June 7, the day the ordinance takes effect.
Los Angeles has struggled for years to regulate the city's medical marijuana industry – much like Sacramento, Colorado Springs, several Montana cities and many others. But more so than any other city, Los Angeles has been a hot spot for the sale of medical marijuana, largely because businesses have remained fairly unregulated. At one point, according to an AP article, the city had more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks. Then, complaints started pouring in from residents concerned with their neighborhoods and city officials began to worry.
Under the new ordinance, which the city been working on in January,
only shops that registered with the city before a November 2007 moratorium will be allowed to operate. But Brian Doherty at Reason points out that a judge declared the moratorium legally void in 2009. Owners that do not close their businesses June 7 could face a misdemeanor charge, six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. They could also face civil penalties of $2,500 a day. City officials have estimated that close to 130 stores will be allowed to stay open. Those businesses will have to adhere to a number of other regulations under the ordinance and then apply to operate legally.
Though city officials believed authorizing the court orders might encourage other dispensaries to take similar actions, Wednesday's failure could have gone much different, had another judge – someone who's been critical of the way the city handled medical marijuana shops – taken the case. Instead, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe denied the temporary restraining orders. "The temporary restraining order is denied, again, and for the last time," Yaffe said.
According to the LA Times, dispensaries aren't the only ones filing lawsuits. Attorney Stewart Richlin filed nine lawsuits this week to seek court orders to halt enforcement of the ordinance; Eric Shevin, another attorney, plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of medical marijuana patients and pursue an order to bar Los Angeles from enforcing the ordinance. In the coming months, the city of Los Angeles will face a tough, and costly, legal battle to protect its law.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Campus Progress
Author: Julissa Treviño
Contact: Campus Progress
Copyright: 2010 Campus Progress
Website: Medical Marijuana Shops vs. The City of Los Angeles: The Fight Continues
