L.A. City Council votes 14-0 to ban medical marijuana shops

[Zen Master]

right before the flood, coincidence?



http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/la-council-votes-on-pot-shops.html
L.A. City Council votes 14-0 to ban medical marijuana shops



In the latest attempt to regulate what many say is an out-of-control proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, the City Counted voted 14-0 Tuesday to ban pot shops.
Under the ban, each of the 762 dispensaries that have registered with the city will be sent a letter ordering them to shut down immediately. Those that don’t comply may face legal action from the city.
Medical marijuana activists who had packed the council chambers jeered when the vote came down. More than a dozen Los Angeles Police Department officers were called in to quell them.
Under the ban, medical patients and their caregivers will be able to grow and share the drug in small groups of three people or less.
But the activists say most patients don’t have the time or skills to cultivate marijuana. One dispensary owner told the council that it would cost patients a minimum of $5,000 to grow marijuana at home.

In a seemingly contradictory move, the council also voted to instruct city staff to draw up an ordinance that would allow a group of about 170 dispensaries that registered with the city several years ago to remain open. Councilman Jose Huizar, who voted against that motion, said it might give the public “false hope” that the ban wound not be enforced.
He said the ban would be enforced, especially against problem dispensaries that have drawn complaints from neighbors. “Relief is on its way,” he said.
But he acknowledged that the city may not have the resources to shut down every dispensary in the city.
Councilman Paul Koretz, who initially voted against the ban, and who supported the motion to allow the oldest dispensaries to stay open, said he hoped the city would come up with a more compassionate law in the future. “We have shut off almost every way that a normal person can get access to marijuana,” he said. “It will be a ban until otherwise noted,” he said.

 

[Hazelnuts]

"One dispensary owner told the council that it would cost patients a minimum of $5000 to grow marijuana at home."
I'm all for MMJ and everything, but that's a load of bullshit. It's perfectly possible to grow a pound for $500 or so. The same pound it would cost $3000 or so to buy. And it is pretty hard to deny that the california MMJ scene has gotten out of hand in an undesirable way. Now the prohibitionists can point to California when the topic of medical cannabis (which, if successfully - in the eyes of the general public - implemented, could pave the way for proper legalization by making weed more accepted) comes up.

 

[trichrider]

"One dispensary owner told the council that it would cost patients a minimum of $5000 to grow marijuana at home."
I'm all for MMJ and everything, but that's a load of bullshit. It's perfectly possible to grow a pound for $500 or so. The same pound it would cost $3000 or so to buy. And it is pretty hard to deny that the california MMJ scene has gotten out of hand in an undesirable way. Now the prohibitionists can point to California when the topic of medical cannabis (which, if successfully - in the eyes of the general public - implemented, could pave the way for proper legalization by making weed more accepted) comes up.

perhaps if you already have the equipment, space, knowledge, and genetics to proceed...but it is cheaper in the long run.
this is purty f*cked up imo, there has to be some ruckus raised.
condolences cali. looks like politics is playin' out.

 

[Hazelnuts]

perhaps if you already have the equipment, space, knowledge, and genetics to proceed...but it is cheaper in the long run.
this is purty f*cked up imo, there has to be some ruckus raised.
condolences cali. looks like politics is playin' out.

Uhh, no I was talking just the cost of the equipment, electricity and nutes, and maybe some seeds (though in Cali it should be easy to get a hold of some cutting). Lucas formula is cheap as hell, lights can be had for around $100 for 600W, building a grow box shouldn't cost more than $50 and ventilation is another $200. I might have underestimated the cost of electricity though, but still you shouldn't have to go above $700. Space is an obvious requirement but you can grow a pound in a 4'x4' area so that shouldn't be a problem for most people. And the knowledge is all right here on icmag and other forums

 

[KushForLife420]

So is this only LA or Orange County aswell?

 

[Grass Lands]

This has been a long time coming....

 

[MIway]

Uhh, no I was talking just the cost of the equipment, electricity and nutes, and maybe some seeds (though in Cali it should be easy to get a hold of some cutting). Lucas formula is cheap as hell, lights can be had for around $100 for 600W, building a grow box shouldn't cost more than $50 and ventilation is another $200. I might have underestimated the cost of electricity though, but still you shouldn't have to go above $700. Space is an obvious requirement but you can grow a pound in a 4'x4' area so that shouldn't be a problem for most people. And the knowledge is all right here on icmag and other forums

By mag standards... that's a ghetto grow. Think u might b underestimating more than the power... ;-)

 

[ivape]

That's bad news. I'm coming over their soon. I'm not from the states anyway so not sure whether I could even get a recommendation and use the dispensaries. Would be great if I could !

 

[Zen Master]

growing is really cheap when its bagseed under a CFL hanging in your closet.

regarding costs: lol, I spent >$50 just on the 2"x4"s to frame my small home made tent.

I spend a couple hundred a month just on grow light electricity, tack on veg lights for the moms and an A/C with some misc fans and I'm over >$500/mo just in elec alone, thats 6 grand a year right there. (not including nutes/media/time)

many people don't have months upon end to work out the kinks to produce AAA consistently, growing is an art and many people don't have a green thumb (see the crap thats bottom shelf at any dispensary) much less the space to grow (dont forget its taking up a $3-600+/mo room (if not a house at significantly more per month) as well as your social life). If you're the type to DGAF about your buddies knowing, come any actual ban/closures, that tent is gonna look mighty enticing.

Its the hidden costs in growing that add up.

By 'banning' dispensaries its not like the supply or the market is going anywhere. If anything actually comes of this it is going to lead to higher prices for wholesalers and more people dusting off their sneakers and getting to work.

 

[señorsloth]

looks like cali has been making a mockery of medical marijuana for too long, when you have hundreds of shops all over the place, and the only patients are dirtballs who look like gang members and burnout 20 year old white guys with dreads...

you know it's a problem when over 70% of Californians believe in medical pot but think the system is being abused and isn't legitimate anymore...they did it too themselves, by letting every single punk who came in with back pain have a recommendation...they steal legitimacy from people who actually need it for medicinal uses like seizures and nausea from chemo.

 

[megayields]

RE> and burnout 20 year old white guys with dreads...

Brother easy wit doze wurds, they hurt IREEEEE?

 

[VirginHarvester]

perhaps if you already have the equipment, space, knowledge, and genetics to proceed...but it is cheaper in the long run.
this is purty f*cked up imo, there has to be some ruckus raised.
condolences cali. looks like politics is playin' out.

It's our fault, legalization was on the ballot but MMJ patients are poorly organized, largely unmotivated and my guess is didn't take time to vote. When the city has held open meetings there might be a few dozen patients. The council members probably laugh at how lazy and unorganized we are. Imagine if the city were going to ban senior citizens from free government medicine, there would be riots. So really, it's on us out here.

So is this only LA or Orange County aswell?

Should only effect LA city limits from what I understand. LA county is huge, northern border is a couple hours from LA city limits.

That's bad news. I'm coming over their soon. I'm not from the states anyway so not sure whether I could even get a recommendation and use the dispensaries. Would be great if I could !

If you are living in Cali and have a California DL you can meet with a physician and receive are recommendation.

looks like cali has been making a mockery of medical marijuana for too long, when you have hundreds of shops all over the place, and the only patients are dirtballs who look like gang members and burnout 20 year old white guys with dreads...

I beg your pardon, do you live in Cali? I've never met a dirtball inside or outside a dispensary. Once in the valley some guys pulled up and made a lot of noise on their way in like they were hot shit- guys that to me looked like losers- but that happens. Otherwise my experience has been these are mostly normal, decent people.

you know it's a problem when over 70% of Californians believe in medical pot but think the system is being abused and isn't legitimate anymore...they did it too themselves, by letting every single punk who came in with back pain have a recommendation...they steal legitimacy from people who actually need it for medicinal uses like seizures and nausea from chemo.

Yeah whatever. But what you fail to consider here is that a) you're a little extreme, b) the city of LA is doing nothing about dangerous drugs like alcohol, narcotics, etc being dispensed and distributed all over the city by essentially the same methods as cannabis. There are all kinds of crooked doctors writing scripts for extremely dangerous narcotics and those drugs are available on every street corner. Add to that alcohol is available to anyone 21 without physician recommendation and much of that alcohol ends up in the hands of minors. Many minors get alcohol and drugs from their parent's stash, a lot of those same parents would likely tell you their children would be safer if the city banned all dispensaries. So really, how bad is the current MMJ scene in California? No worse than anything else I mentioned and that is likely pervasive and part of the culture where you live as well.

To put it another way, what if everyone's choice of drug was only cannabis- that if everyone who currently uses alcohol, narcotics, crack, meth, etc switched to cannabis only- would crime, pain, agony, disease, unnecessary death, be reduced dramatically? See what I'm getting at?

 

[avant gardener]

i would just like to take this very convenient opportunity to say fuck the City of Los Angeles.
friendly fascism is still fascism.

 

[draph]

Uhh, no I was talking just the cost of the equipment, electricity and nutes, and maybe some seeds (though in Cali it should be easy to get a hold of some cutting). Lucas formula is cheap as hell, lights can be had for around $100 for 600W, building a grow box shouldn't cost more than $50 and ventilation is another $200. I might have underestimated the cost of electricity though, but still you shouldn't have to go above $700. Space is an obvious requirement but you can grow a pound in a 4'x4' area so that shouldn't be a problem for most people. And the knowledge is all right here on icmag and other forums

how would you get or seed legitimately without dispensaries?

one thing not addressed ever is the variety a dispensary provides. Sure I can grow my own, and then in 3 months... if I am lucky get a good harvest, and cure it right, smoke my own....but what if the strain I grow doesn't work for me?

Dispensaries are very good at solving this problem... with lots of kinds to sample.

 

[Raw_Dog]

You guys don't realize what you are doing to the rest of the US anyways... I'm glad you're getting banned, not hating but appreciative. Mj is a rosales fruit so she isn't bad in any manner but the price war has to stop. that $3000 price needs to be $5000. You guys are selling yourselves short because of the high demand and competition in the small area. Glad we (the rest of the country) gotta a little help from the fed, wow I can't even realize I said that. You can go ahead and start clicking [__NO__] now.

 

[Tonygreen]

By mag standards... that's a ghetto grow. Think u might b underestimating more than the power... ;-)

Don't look in my garden!

Whats the real deal about the ordinance to let the older ones stay open?

 

[KT420]

We have the opposite problem in Arizona. Dispensaries are about to start opening and as soon as they do we're no longer allowed to grow within 25 miles of them, so banning them from the major cities would be GREAT!

 

[Jon 54]

They're all fucking coward's scared to shit of obama and his goons. Jon 54

 

[accessndx]

Don't want to be slingin' shit at CA.....BUT......if there wasn't an epidemic problem....there wouldn't be a backlash. I don't know or understand the politicking out there, but it's well established and common knowledge that folks feel the system was and is abused.
That doesn't mean there aren't legitmate patients in desperate need, but they're clearly the minority.

And YES, Obama has been a dirtbag with his policies against MMJ. Of course there are also those ultra-conservative dickheads that are always going to want to put the kibosh on medical or recreational pot.......

BUT, you think after having established a working and pioneering system of medicine....that folks would have been able to keep a handle on things so it would stay around. Instead, the whole joint turned into the wild west of weed....and you've got everybody and their uncle pointing fingers at Cali stating what not to do if and when medical comes their way.

Ya' know what: moderation and a lower profile would have gone SOOOOO MUCH FURTHER.

 

[stasis]

The Real Wild West is still in operation, in general.

But, The Wild West of WEED Also Includes Michigan, and other states...
Every person is tempted to go above the numbers in CA or any other state.

You guys are well-off-the Mark on some of your comments.

I have met quite a few Greedy Growers from other MMJ States.

LA may have had too many dispensaries that could be said. IMHO, most Urban Areas have too many LIQUOR STORES..

As for people abusing the system, well - the Economy is poor in CA, as well as MI. People will do what they will do. I don;t care personally, even though it affects my fundage.. (glut, etc).

And Dudesickle(s).. There are PLENTY of people for whom Cannabis provides extreme Medical Relief. I know a few, and many of us here on IC also do. I am related to a few.

"Thugs" in LA Clubs...>? With Due Respect, I disagree on that. If LA Cannabis Clubs ARE full of "Thugs," I would bet that the Bars are too. In other words, That WOULD BE the existing way of the people. Having nothing to do with the Medical Club itself.
Go to some clubs in SF. They are like Social Clubs, just a bunch of people laughing..! Or simple buy-and-go places. LA might be different, but maybe not. Not from what I have seen. Only been to a few down there, they were not threatening. Clubs in Less "Savory" Neighborhoods are less "Savory..!" Simple Demographics.

This will probably shake out that there WILL BE places to obtain Medical Cannabis. Right now, this is a Last-Ditch effort. Of course, last-Ditch efforts have been happening for years now...! But, the whole scene is EVOLVING. Always has been.

Pretty Bizarre how Arizona is opening Retail Outlets and other places are banning them. The USA AG says one thing. The "News" (term used loosely) tells us that BO may relax on MMJ in his second term..

Blah Blah Blah.

Too many threads are being closed of late - less bashing, more compassion - I thought that was what Pot made us do - have Empathy..