City Attorney Bob Shannon has drafted new regulations for medical marijuana collectives to help the City Council nip the issue in the bud.
Frustrated by a growing number of medical marijuana collectives and dispensaries in Long Beach, the council has been working to find a way to regulate the facilities.
The council has been piecing together recommendations and legal advice from Shannon, city staff, City Prosecutor Tom Reeves, mostly in committee meetings.
Shannon's draft ordinance outlines many controls for the collectives, which are permitted by state law, including limitations on where they may be located, hours of operation and how marijuana is distributed. Also, every member of a collective would have to be named, and if one member were to violate the city rules, the entire collective could be shut down.
Shannon said Friday that his proposal isn't overly strict. For example, it doesn't limit the number of collectives allowed in Long Beach - Councilwoman Rae Gabelich has suggested that no more than nine should be permitted - and it doesn't prohibit collectives altogether, as the city has the right to do.
"This is not at all the most restrictive," Shannon said. "This permits the collectives to operate under certain restrictive requirements."
The council passed a six-month moratorium on new marijuana collectives in 2005, but at the time there was little guidance from higher levels of
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government and too many legal questions, Shannon said. Since then, court cases have clarified the law and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has implemented a policy of prosecuting illegal marijuana dispensaries.
"We were really not in a position to go forward at that time. Now we are," Shannon said. "This puts the city on record as simply not looking the other way as we have for years."
Tuesday meeting
On Tuesday, the council will discuss Shannon's ordinance, likely tweak it, and then determine the next step, such as whether to send it back to committee or have Shannon prepare the law for approval. The council meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.
Operators and patients of the estimated 50 to 60 medical marijuana facilities in Long Beach say the collectives play an important role in providing seriously ill patients with an important medication.
However, "medication" may be a loosely used term, as marijuana isn't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and is still considered illegal by the federal government. Reeves, the city prosecutor, has said he believes many of the facilities in Long Beach are operating illegally as dispensaries by selling marijuana over the counter for a profit, in violation of state law.
Neighbors of the dispensaries or collectives also have voiced concerns about safety, the smell from the collectives and how the facilities may be affecting their neighborhoods or businesses.
Patients vs. neighbors
Members of the Belmont Shore Natural Care medical marijuana collective in southeast Long Beach say access to medical marijuana is needed.
The small, clean, unassuming collective operates in the back of a retail and office building at the end of the popular Second Street business corridor.
A security guard, video cameras inside and out, a bullet-proof glass window in the lobby and locked doors all help control who can get in and out of the facility.
Inside, behind glass counters, a variety of marijuana strains are listed, along with suggested donations depending on type and quantity - this is a gray area in state law, which doesn't allow marijuana to be sold. Other marijuana products, such as food, eye droppers of marijuana oils and other forms of the drug are available.
For Bobby D., who didn't want his last name used, medical marijuana has been a relief from years of advanced arthritis in his hands, knees and neck, he said. It also has given him a relief from other pain-killing pharmaceuticals, which he said he takes less since he began using marijuana.
"It gives me more relief than all of the other stuff I've taken," the 60-year-old said.
Danielle, who also didn't want her last name used, is a 24-year-old patient and volunteer at the collective. Volunteers are compensated as much as possible, often earning minimum wage, according to Sierra Serhan, who runs the collective.
Responding to a common complaint of some collectives' neighbors that young, seemingly healthy people often show up to buy marijuana for what many assume to be recreational, rather than medical, purposes, Danielle said looks can be deceiving.
Danielle, who is a student at Long Beach City College, said she has battled with a thyroid condition called Graves disease, for which she has been hospitalized because of chronic nausea and which has led to her receiving her nourishment through a feeding tube. When a doctor recommended medical marijuana about four years ago, Danielle finally began to feel better, she said.
Still, Serhan and some patients admitted that not all collectives are on the up-and-up, which is why Serhan has actually supported local regulations.
That's exactly what neighbors of the Belmont Shore Natural Care collective want too.
Although they don't have the same complaints as in some other neighborhoods, where residents have raised concerns about unsavory characters entering the collectives, they still say their businesses are affected.
Allison Kisiday, who runs Pilates by Allison in the same building as the collective, said she is concerned her customers think she is smoking marijuana.
"The biggest problem we're having is the smell in my business, as well as in the salon downstairs," Kisiday said. "In the last three months I have seen a pattern of clients coming and not returning."
The collective doesn't allow smoking in or near its facility, and it uses an air filter, but Kisiday said the potent smell of marijuana still occasionally wafts into her business.
"I do believe that the medical marijuana dispensaries have their place and I'm for them, but I do believe that there absolutely has to be some regulation," Kisiday said. "We don't have a problem with them being there, we just have a problem with them affecting our business."
Patchy enforcement
Even without local regulations, city officials could still keep an eye on, and shut down, collectives for violating state law, such as those that effectively sell the drug. But Long Beach has had a mixed record of enforcement against illegally operating marijuana dispensaries.
Deputy Police Chief Bill Blair said that over the last year, his officers have made "a few" dispensary related arrests - fewer than 10, though he didn't have the exact number. Most of these haven't been dealing with storefront dispensaries, but with people falsely claiming to be a medical marijuana patient or caregiver.
He admitted that while state law gives police the ability to investigate and shut down dispensaries, doing so hasn't been a top priority for Long Beach police.
Investigating dispensaries is time consuming, and violent crime and other narcotics issues often take precedence, Blair said.
Last month, city officials took the rare move of shutting down a collective. The city closed Green Nurse Collective at 1532 E. Broadway not simply for operating as a dispensary, but because it had a business license to do something else, said Erik Sund, the city's business relations manager.
Owner Helen Bush had received a retail license to sell wigs and do aromatherapy, but Sund discovered through her interview with a local publication that she was in fact dispensing marijuana, he said.
Bush said Friday that she was operating a collective, but she denied selling medical marijuana over the counter.
"I did not sell medical marijuana because it's against the law to sell it," Bush said. "We shared."
The strange thing is that if Bush had only wanted to operate a collective, she wouldn't have needed a business license at all from the city because no local regulations are in place.
Under Proposition 215, approved by voters in 1996 to allow medical marijuana use by seriously and terminally ill patients, only a state permit is needed, although local governments have the ability to create their own regulations.
Once Long Beach has its rules in place, that is when the city will be able to start taking a closer look at all of the dispensaries, Sund said. He said the closing of Bush's business was a unique situation and doesn't indicate a new city policy of closing down collectives - yet.
"We're in a waiting period to find out what the regulation and the rules of the regulation will be," Sund said. "We have to wait until a path is available."
Shannon's draft ordinance may soon create that long-sought path.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Press-Telegram
Author: Paul Eakins
Contact: Press-Telegram
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Newspaper group
Website: Ordinance Draft Outlines Controls On Long Beach Marijuana Collectives
Frustrated by a growing number of medical marijuana collectives and dispensaries in Long Beach, the council has been working to find a way to regulate the facilities.
The council has been piecing together recommendations and legal advice from Shannon, city staff, City Prosecutor Tom Reeves, mostly in committee meetings.
Shannon's draft ordinance outlines many controls for the collectives, which are permitted by state law, including limitations on where they may be located, hours of operation and how marijuana is distributed. Also, every member of a collective would have to be named, and if one member were to violate the city rules, the entire collective could be shut down.
Shannon said Friday that his proposal isn't overly strict. For example, it doesn't limit the number of collectives allowed in Long Beach - Councilwoman Rae Gabelich has suggested that no more than nine should be permitted - and it doesn't prohibit collectives altogether, as the city has the right to do.
"This is not at all the most restrictive," Shannon said. "This permits the collectives to operate under certain restrictive requirements."
The council passed a six-month moratorium on new marijuana collectives in 2005, but at the time there was little guidance from higher levels of
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government and too many legal questions, Shannon said. Since then, court cases have clarified the law and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has implemented a policy of prosecuting illegal marijuana dispensaries.
"We were really not in a position to go forward at that time. Now we are," Shannon said. "This puts the city on record as simply not looking the other way as we have for years."
Tuesday meeting
On Tuesday, the council will discuss Shannon's ordinance, likely tweak it, and then determine the next step, such as whether to send it back to committee or have Shannon prepare the law for approval. The council meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.
Operators and patients of the estimated 50 to 60 medical marijuana facilities in Long Beach say the collectives play an important role in providing seriously ill patients with an important medication.
However, "medication" may be a loosely used term, as marijuana isn't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and is still considered illegal by the federal government. Reeves, the city prosecutor, has said he believes many of the facilities in Long Beach are operating illegally as dispensaries by selling marijuana over the counter for a profit, in violation of state law.
Neighbors of the dispensaries or collectives also have voiced concerns about safety, the smell from the collectives and how the facilities may be affecting their neighborhoods or businesses.
Patients vs. neighbors
Members of the Belmont Shore Natural Care medical marijuana collective in southeast Long Beach say access to medical marijuana is needed.
The small, clean, unassuming collective operates in the back of a retail and office building at the end of the popular Second Street business corridor.
A security guard, video cameras inside and out, a bullet-proof glass window in the lobby and locked doors all help control who can get in and out of the facility.
Inside, behind glass counters, a variety of marijuana strains are listed, along with suggested donations depending on type and quantity - this is a gray area in state law, which doesn't allow marijuana to be sold. Other marijuana products, such as food, eye droppers of marijuana oils and other forms of the drug are available.
For Bobby D., who didn't want his last name used, medical marijuana has been a relief from years of advanced arthritis in his hands, knees and neck, he said. It also has given him a relief from other pain-killing pharmaceuticals, which he said he takes less since he began using marijuana.
"It gives me more relief than all of the other stuff I've taken," the 60-year-old said.
Danielle, who also didn't want her last name used, is a 24-year-old patient and volunteer at the collective. Volunteers are compensated as much as possible, often earning minimum wage, according to Sierra Serhan, who runs the collective.
Responding to a common complaint of some collectives' neighbors that young, seemingly healthy people often show up to buy marijuana for what many assume to be recreational, rather than medical, purposes, Danielle said looks can be deceiving.
Danielle, who is a student at Long Beach City College, said she has battled with a thyroid condition called Graves disease, for which she has been hospitalized because of chronic nausea and which has led to her receiving her nourishment through a feeding tube. When a doctor recommended medical marijuana about four years ago, Danielle finally began to feel better, she said.
Still, Serhan and some patients admitted that not all collectives are on the up-and-up, which is why Serhan has actually supported local regulations.
That's exactly what neighbors of the Belmont Shore Natural Care collective want too.
Although they don't have the same complaints as in some other neighborhoods, where residents have raised concerns about unsavory characters entering the collectives, they still say their businesses are affected.
Allison Kisiday, who runs Pilates by Allison in the same building as the collective, said she is concerned her customers think she is smoking marijuana.
"The biggest problem we're having is the smell in my business, as well as in the salon downstairs," Kisiday said. "In the last three months I have seen a pattern of clients coming and not returning."
The collective doesn't allow smoking in or near its facility, and it uses an air filter, but Kisiday said the potent smell of marijuana still occasionally wafts into her business.
"I do believe that the medical marijuana dispensaries have their place and I'm for them, but I do believe that there absolutely has to be some regulation," Kisiday said. "We don't have a problem with them being there, we just have a problem with them affecting our business."
Patchy enforcement
Even without local regulations, city officials could still keep an eye on, and shut down, collectives for violating state law, such as those that effectively sell the drug. But Long Beach has had a mixed record of enforcement against illegally operating marijuana dispensaries.
Deputy Police Chief Bill Blair said that over the last year, his officers have made "a few" dispensary related arrests - fewer than 10, though he didn't have the exact number. Most of these haven't been dealing with storefront dispensaries, but with people falsely claiming to be a medical marijuana patient or caregiver.
He admitted that while state law gives police the ability to investigate and shut down dispensaries, doing so hasn't been a top priority for Long Beach police.
Investigating dispensaries is time consuming, and violent crime and other narcotics issues often take precedence, Blair said.
Last month, city officials took the rare move of shutting down a collective. The city closed Green Nurse Collective at 1532 E. Broadway not simply for operating as a dispensary, but because it had a business license to do something else, said Erik Sund, the city's business relations manager.
Owner Helen Bush had received a retail license to sell wigs and do aromatherapy, but Sund discovered through her interview with a local publication that she was in fact dispensing marijuana, he said.
Bush said Friday that she was operating a collective, but she denied selling medical marijuana over the counter.
"I did not sell medical marijuana because it's against the law to sell it," Bush said. "We shared."
The strange thing is that if Bush had only wanted to operate a collective, she wouldn't have needed a business license at all from the city because no local regulations are in place.
Under Proposition 215, approved by voters in 1996 to allow medical marijuana use by seriously and terminally ill patients, only a state permit is needed, although local governments have the ability to create their own regulations.
Once Long Beach has its rules in place, that is when the city will be able to start taking a closer look at all of the dispensaries, Sund said. He said the closing of Bush's business was a unique situation and doesn't indicate a new city policy of closing down collectives - yet.
"We're in a waiting period to find out what the regulation and the rules of the regulation will be," Sund said. "We have to wait until a path is available."
Shannon's draft ordinance may soon create that long-sought path.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Press-Telegram
Author: Paul Eakins
Contact: Press-Telegram
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Newspaper group
Website: Ordinance Draft Outlines Controls On Long Beach Marijuana Collectives
