LAPD chief: State pot policy "is Looney Tunes"

Here are some of the stories that KTLA News is working on this evening:

BRATTON'S TAKE ON POT: LA's unabashed police chief, William J. Bratton, weighed in today on the Obama administration's directive that federal agents stop raids in states where medical marijuana is legal. "I think that the policy of the federal government at this time is unfortunate. I think the policy of this state is Looney Tunes," Bratton said at a Parker Center news conference. "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.

WINDSHIELD VANDALISM: In southern Orange County, two teens went on a vandalism spree last night, shooting out the windshields of at least 41 parked cars in an upscale Foothill Ranch neighborhood, officials said. Authorities believe that the teenagers used a pellet gun to shatter the car windshields as they randomly cruised residential streets. Last Saturday night, 10 other cars in the same area were vandalized.  Police hope that video from a home surveillance camera will help them identify the suspects.

Comments

[Rob]

1. Police Chief Bratton says there are no regulations for enforcing the California laws pertaining to pot. Huh? His job is to enforce the laws of the state and the ordinances of Los Angeles. How can he not know what the enforcement regulations are?
2. Pot makes people less aggressive. Less aggression means less violent crime.
3. Legalized pot in California means one less drug smuggled in through Mexico and less violence associated with pot smuggling activities.
4. The taxes on pot sold in California help finance the police department.

Police Chief Bratton should show more restraint when voicing his opinions about things that should be low on his priority list. GANGBANGERS are what worries me most in Los Angeles. And if he needs to comment on drugs, he should speak to the serious types like meth, heroine and crack/cocaine.

[Xu Xu Fang]

Bratton should be more concerned with gang violence, crime and drunk drivers who commit offenses a million times more egregious than what medical marijuana dispensaries do.

Alcohol is regulated and enforced, yet is still responsible for more death, mayhem and injury than medical marijuana by far.

Every "Tom, Dick and Harry," can obtain alcohol and danger society much faster than they can with medical marijuana.

Drunk driving is a major problem. Medication for health problems is not.

[H. Hilborn]

New marijuana policy looney?
What's looney is repeating the failed old policy, and expecting different results.
The people will have marijuana. Shall they have it with, or without, gangsters and corruption?

[K.Alcorn]

Is this really a paramount concern for our police chief? Is he kidding? First of all, years ago a cop told me that it was the calls from bars and domestic violence related to alcohol abuse that were his most troublesome, by far-he said he's never received those kinds of calls (dangerous, involving violence) about pot users.

In the second place, it's actually NOT at all easy for "any tom, dick or harry" to visit a medical marijuana dispensary. Has he ever been to such a place? I'm sure not. They cross-check and double check for the appropriate paperwork and always call the referring doctor-as per the law.

The other posters are right: our BIG problem in L.A. is gangs, something that seems to flourish instead of getting better, and I've lived here all my life, unlike Bratton. He should stop making grandstanding statements about easy targets that are totally irrelevant to the safety of Angelenos.

[J. Smikens]

See the real issue here to me is how, if you really mean what you say about our California medical laws being "Looney Tune" then you effectively reject what we, Californians, considered to be qualified individuals who we voted into office to represent us. If you are not saying our choices in politicians are Looney Tune then the other possibility is that you are not satisfied with the job our Politicians are doing for our State and if that's the case you need to reflect on who's paying your rent sir. Californian's are paying it and many can't afford the basic necessities and yet they still have to make sure your pay check gets deposited into your bank account every 2 weeks. But still these poor people squeak by some how while you protect them from the Looney Tune laws. Californian's don't mind folks sharing their ideas and creative opinions but use that back East humor on us to often and you will ware out your welcome sir, ok? Sincerely, thanks for all the hard work you do and for the motivation you give all your associates.

If cannabis was legally produced by companies the government could inspect them for sanitation, cleanliness, quality, and have a mandatory grading system and the government would charge grading service fees. Distributors would only be allowed to sell graded products from producers who are under the governments onsite inspection and grading staff. DEA came from the FDA way back when which is great because they can go back to their old jobs at the FDA, update their science training and become certified graders and plant inspectors. Without anybody losing their government job and providing revenue by collecting grading fees on legalized cannabis. The staff remaining in DEA could become Americas first line of defense against un-graded cannabis products from entering into US commerce.

"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." -Abraham Lincoln U.S. President. <- Republican

So ridiculous to try and change the foundation America was built on. Now here's what we conservative republicans in California will allow, without all the talk of changing the American paradigm as your article promotes based on our country's history and what the original forefathers wanted and not foremothers:

If cannabis was legally produced by companies the government could inspect them for sanitation, cleanliness, quality, and have a mandatory grading system and the government would charge grading service fees. Distributors would only be allowed to sell graded products from producers who are under the governments onsite inspection and grading program. DEA came from the FDA way back when which is great because they can go back to their old jobs at the FDA, update their science training and become certified graders and plant inspectors. The staff remaining in DEA could become Americas first line of defense against un-graded and un-inspected cannabis products from entering into US commerce.
Period the End