All L.A. County medical pot dispensaries face prosecution, district attorney says

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said today that all the medical marijuana dispensaries in the county are operating illegally, and that "they are going to be prosecuted."

There are hundreds of dispensaries throughout the county, including as many as 800 in the city of Los Angeles, according to the city attorney's office. They operate under a 1996 voter initiative that allowed marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes, and a subsequent state law that provided for collective cultivation.

Based on a state Supreme Court decision last year, Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich have concluded that over-the-counter sales are illegal. Most if not all of the dispensaries in the state operate on that basis.

Cooley said his office had already begun preparing to prosecute a Culver City dispensary called Organica.

Widespread criminal prosecutions could deal a sharp blow to the medical marijuana movement in California, where advocates have argued that access to the drug has helped many cancer patients and others manage pain, nausea and other health issues.

Cooley and Trutanich announced their plans after a training session for narcotics officers at the Montebello Country Club. Outside about 100 medical marijuana advocates protested, saying that not allowing over-the-counter sales threatens the distribution of a product that many sick people have come to rely on.

Barry Kramer, operator of the California Patient Alliance, a dispensary on Melrose Avenue, said, "If this is the way it goes, we'll go underground again. There will be a lot more crime."

-- John Hoeffel

Photo: Vanessa Richards helps a customer from La Cresenta at the Roscoe Compassionate Collective in Canoga Park on July 21.

Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Related: Where's the weed? Use The Times' interactive map to see the locations in the city of Los Angeles ocations where applications for medical marijuana dispensaries have been filed.

 

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Comments

[What about]

What about those that have gone to the dispensaries, legally, with the license, to obtain the pot? Should we be worried that we have had to give our name, dl# and address on each visit?

This is what you get for following the rules, and trying to do right. Seems safer now to go back to a friendly supplier and take your chances there, instead of living in fear you're going to be prosecuted for trying to be a law abiding citizen seeking help.

[JahLove63]

What a waste of time and money! The government is going about this all the wrong way, rather than waste tax payers dollars, why don't you just levy taxes on these dispensaries and be done with the draconian strong arm tactics. Get you head out of your arses, criminal justice system, and stop wasting your time with pot enthusiasts/medical users, spend more time bringing down the meth labs and cocaine dealers, they do more damage to the body and environment!

[LATaurus]

This is persecution of the sick and totally contrary to what the medical marijuana laws in this state were enacted to do.

It represents complete over-reaching by Cooley and Trutanich, who have apparently decided that state law isn't the law of the land in Los Angeles.

One can only hope the state and/or courts will intervene and force these guys to follow state law.

[Gary]

Here goes another huge waste of taxpayer funds. Officials lose battle after battle in court and this will be yet another fight they cannot win. C'mon, prosecute over 800 dispensaries? I guess gang shootings, robberies, rapes and other violent crimes will be put on the back burner? Citizens of LA (and everywhere) get active. An injustice to one is an injustice to all!

[Joey]

As someone who is a patron of Barry Kramer's model of a dispensary (and no others), this news sickens me. I voted for Trutanich as we all believed he was a friend to medical marijuana. What a laugh. This is the worst solution imaginable to an admittedly bad problem. Even though I'm a patient, I support an overhaul of the system, but this is draconian and completely ignores the entire point of making medical marijuana legal: providing for patients who are unable to grow for themselves.

If Trutanich decided to outlaw Vicodin because of all the addicts abusing it, there would be an uproar the likes of which one can only imagine. This is the exact same thing, except that for me, marijuana is far less addictive and with much fewer unpleasant side effects than pharmaceuticals. Shame on Carmen and his buddies for placing seriously ill patients in this position.

[lojay21]

Many of us in the medical marijuana proponent community voted for Trutanich because he promised to be looser in his interpretation of how dispensaries can operate, we campaigned for him, put out a big push in our magazines and advocacy groups. He met with many of us, had his photo ops with us, and we were instrumental in helping defeat Jack Weiss because he led us to believe that he'd be different from Weiss who we knew from PLUM was more on the side of law enforcement and took a critical view of most dispensaries. More in the vein of Delgadillo who was no friend to marijuana advocates.

But at least PLUM had been taking an individual look at each case and hadn't taken the position they were all illegal, which we were shocked to find is their new position on orders of Trutanich who seems to be taking his own marching orders from Cooley.

We were dismayed to find that his interpretation to the Council last week was in marked contrast to why we'd supported him, and to what he'd led us to believe by encouraging us to work for him to get out the vote.

Ed Reyes and Huizar on PLUM and new member Koretz, who'd authored a law sympathetic to medical patients in the Assembly, seem to have a more reasonable point of view than Zine who speaks for Trutanich, and it's important for the Council to assert jurisdiction over this issue.

It's one thing to be concerned about community objections over some dispensaries near schools and which cast all of them in a bad light, but this drastic interpretation comes as the Obama Administration has indicated it would no longer aggressively go against state laws like California's, and as a statewide movement to normalize dispensaries which operate within the law as widely understood, is taking root. We feel this is a betrayal of our trust in the democratic process.

[matt]

This is sickening and heartbreaking. Political grandstanding at its worst.

Hopefully, some good will come out of it when the public sees the Gestapo tactics of law enforcement hauling people in wheelchairs away.

[Louis]

Barry Kramer is exactly right. Take the dispensaries right to sell over the counter, and the state will simply lose out on the taxes they're collecting for medical green right now. Even patients who's need for medical marijuana are "questionable" are putting money into the state and federal governments and not into the hands of criminal organizations when buying from a dispensary. California can't seem to get anything right.

[d]

the US has become the dumbest country in the world

[Husband with Sick Wife]

My wife is very sick and now cannot obtain her medication legally or safely. I am furious with the City and District Attorneys. They are directly and seriously hurting my family. Elected officials should serve the needs of their constituency and not their own. I will have to relocate to a more compassionate city now. I hope they see the pain and suffering they are causing by their own interpretation of the will of the people.

[Bags]

Agreed with What about. Sounds like a scheme to close a city budget problem.

[420?]

800 of these in the last few months? Seems like a lot of "sick" people out there.. I would like to see just one of these "dispensaries" actually tell you where and how the "medicine" was grown and with what standards. Regulation is really needed here..

[Zach Hansen]

This is completely insane. Not only for the customers and owners of these dispensaries, many of whom have health issues that only marijuana can help them with, but also for California's economy. The state is already struggling with 12.2% unemployment rates and I know MANY of us can't find work.

The simple fact of the matter is that once these provisions go through, pot will go back underground, just as the article states. And what will happen then? The money used for the purchase of the drug will go to smugglers who don't care about their customers safety. Furthermore, the money will leave the local economy and head for other countries, such as Mexico. Let's not fool ourselves here, CRIME WILL GO UP. Let's shoot ourselves in the foot once again, California!

[TDM]

This is outrageous. You would think with California being in the dire fiscal situation it is in the bureaucrats in charge would want to listen to the voters.

This will just send people back to funding the drug cartels and keeping sick people from getting the medicine they need.

[LA Voter]

This clown Cooley has got to go. Vote this sham out of office. What a waste of taxpayer dollars and human resources. I hate this man and wish him ill.

[Citizen]

The real criminals are not the marijuana clients or sellers, but those paid to keep marijuana illegal. They are causing the horrible crimes and heavy tax payer funded enforcement for the harmless weed. It is obvious they are being bribed by those who profit off marijuana being illegal. Keeping marijuana illegal causes most of the crimes and makes users go underground and get exposed to seriously dangerous drugs, which marijuana is not. Marijuana is less dangerous and less addictive than alcohol. But someone is being bribed to keep it illegal. Someone with bravery needs to stand up to the crooked legislators who keep marijuana illegal.

[Jon Doe]

Now, I think I have this right:

ARE COOPERATIVES AND COLLECTIVES LEGAL?
AG Guidelines clearly state coops/collectives are legal; "Under California law, medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers may associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes.” (§ 11362.775.)" [AG Guidelines]
“Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions under Section 11357, 11358, 11359, 11360, 11366, 11366.5, or 11570.” (Health and Saf. Code, § 11362.775.)
The Third District Appellate Court in 2005 citing SB-420’s authorization of “collective, cooperative cultivation projects,” the court found that FloraCare had developed into a legal entity under state law.
CAN I GROW FOR OTHERS IN A COLLECTIVE?
On April 3 a Mendocino County jury came back 7-5 for acquittal of Luke Strauss and Joe Maligno, who had grown 400 pounds of bud slated for more than a thousand patients at their storefront collective, West Hollywood Center for Compassionate Healing, the largest in the state. The Strauss-Maligno case says juries will no longer regard a large amount of marijuana as automatic evidence of guilt, they will take into account the number of people it has been grown for.
MARIJUANA IS ILLEGAL AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
“Given the limited resources that we have, our focus will be on people, organizations that are growing, cultivating substantial amounts of marijuana and doing so in a way that’s inconsistent with federal and state law,” the attorney general said. [AG William Holder]

DISPENSARIES ARE ILLEGAL?
4th circuit says collective dispensaries are legal.

YOU CAN'T PAY FOR MMJ, SWEAT EQUITY ONLY IN A COOP/COLLECTIVE.
3rd circuit says cash only commitment to collectives is legal, "sweat equity" is no longer necessary.
[County of Butte v Superior Court]

Based on the County of Butte decision, I don't see how they can say this:

"Based on a state Supreme Court decision last year, Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich have concluded that over-the-counter sales are illegal. Most if not all of the dispensaries in the state operate on that basis."

I am grateful we have people like clinder and others that actually know the answer to that. I however am very confused.

[Morris Huckley]

There's two city workers who won't get re-elected.

[TDM]

Yes "42o?" there are THOUSANDS of sick people living in Los Angeles who need medical marijuana. How ignorant can you be? California voters approved it! What harm are the dispensaries and their patients doing!!??

[Enrique]

Steve Cooley needs to worry about prosecuting Terrorists not pot dispensaries. Listen to the people Steve Cooley we chose to make it legal in 1996... It's what we like to call, Democracy at work.

[Nubar]

Ridiculous. The system for medicinal marijuana had finally come to a recognizable authority in LA. In my opinion, if the DA decides to follow through with this they are only going to dig a deep hole for themselves - getting the rightful public frustrated and agitated with these unessesary policies and regulations. DA should try to focus on more serious and dangerous drugs coming through the border and such, instead of waste time and money on the marijuana case. Seems to me like they've found themselves to be a bit on the bored side.

[Joey]

To "420?": Beyond a doubt, there are things wrong with the system. Nuking it from orbit is not the answer. For every pothead who went to a shady doctor who wrote a recommendation for no real medical problem, there is a cancer patient using marijuana to make it through chemo, or an MS patient using it to get through his days.

A solution is needed. This is not a solution, this is Prohibition. I've been proud to be a legal patient in the state of California due to my disabling chronic illnesses. Now I'm going to have to be a criminal again.

[notfallin4it]

all u pot heads are funny and you sound like a bunch of hard core addicts getting high under the guise of my illness. the only pain and suffering will be withdrawl symptoms.and as for money saved it will offset the waste perpetrated by this sham sick people. my wat a soft society we have produced...

[Harold Ard]

All you folks should support Assemblyman Tom Ammiano bill in the Assembly that will treat marijuana the same as tobacco and alcohol.

[Legalize]

D.A. Cooley is doing a disservice to the community and needs to be removed. The dispensaries take customers away from drug dealers, slashing their profits and forcing them to go elsewhere to sell their drugs. The dispensaries in effect shield our communities from drug dealers and improve the safety of our streets.

When D.A. Cooley succeeds in closing down the dispensaries the drug dealers and cartels will rule the streets again and all of us will be worse off.

Fire D.A. Cooley! Get him out of power!! His policies are short-sighted and harmful to our community. Get rid of him before he endangers the safety of your family!

[David]

Cooley and Trutanich are two more politicians who won't get votes or support from me. Why don't they spend money and resources on real problems instead of picking on people who sell and/or smoke marijuana?

[Minor Threat]

"The real criminals are not the marijuana clients or sellers, but those paid to keep marijuana illegal. "

exactly this.

[Gaucho420]

When elections come around, we all need to remember these losers and vote them out of office. What a joke, its amazing to me what the law enforcement officers in this country decide to go after and what they decide to leave behind.

Trutanich and Cooley need to go, so rememver those names next election.

[Anon Noname]

This is so wrong. Let's just tax marijuana and use the money for California's schools. Let's vote this guy out of office next election!

[LA Native]

I'm curious where someone here thought that Trutanich was friendly to the cause, I never had any such feeling during the campaign.
I don't use it period but hey, make it legal, tax the hell out of it like cigs and booze and if you drive while using treat it like a DUI. problem solved

[Janet]

TDM claims that "there are THOUSANDS of sick people living in Los Angeles who need medical marijuana."

I find the economics of marijuana dispensaries confusing.

Lets assume about 3% of the population of LA actually need medicinal marijuana. That's 100,000 patients. There are over 800 dispensaries in LA alone. That comes out to 125 patients per dispensary. How do these dispensaries manage to stay in business?

There's a dispensary in Westwood Village, across the street from UCLA. Have you checked the going price for store-front rentals in that area? Even if they are non-profit, they have to be selling a lot of medicinal just to stay open.

Berkeley (population 100,000) has four dispensaries. If you scale that to Los Angeles (population 4,000,000), you need 160 dispensaries. Why do we have 800 and growing?

Something stinks in this business of medicinal marijuana.

[John M]

I cannot believe I voted for this idiot. What is wrong with these morons. As if worrying about marijuana dispensaries should even be on his radar.
My father has terminal cancer and is a holder of a prescription and uses marijuana to combat all the issues associated with chemo.
This entire thing should not be an issue. The ONLY thing this guy should be prosecuting is dispensaries that are not paying their taxes!

[Warren]

GUIDELINES FOR THE SECURITY AND NON-DIVERSION
OF MARIJUANA GROWN FOR MEDICAL USE
August 2008-EDMUND G. BROWN JR. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Attorney General

IV. GUIDELINES REGARDING COLLECTIVES AND COOPERATIVES
Under California law, medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers may “associate
within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for
medical purposes.” (§ 11362.775.) The following guidelines are meant to apply to qualified
patients and primary caregivers who come together to collectively or cooperatively cultivate
physician-recommended marijuana.

A. Business Forms: Any group that is collectively or cooperatively cultivating and
distributing marijuana for medical purposes should be organized and operated in a manner
that ensures the security of the crop and safeguards against diversion for non-medical
purposes. The following are guidelines to help cooperatives and collectives operate within
the law, and to help law enforcement determine whether they are doing so.

1. Statutory Cooperatives: A cooperative must file articles of incorporation
with the state and conduct its business for the mutual benefit of its members.
(Corp. Code, § 12201, 12300.) No business may call itself a “cooperative” (or “coop”)
unless it is properly organized and registered as such a corporation under the
Corporations or Food and Agricultural Code. (Id. at § 12311(b).) Cooperative
corporations are “democratically controlled and are not organized to make a profit
for themselves, as such, or for their members, as such, but primarily for their
members as patrons.” (Id. at § 12201.) The earnings and savings of the business
must be used for the general welfare of its members or equitably distributed to
members in the form of cash, property, credits, or services. (Ibid.) Cooperatives
must follow strict rules on organization, articles, elections, and distribution of
earnings, and must report individual transactions from individual members each
year. (See id. at § 12200, et seq.) Agricultural cooperatives are likewise nonprofit
corporate entities “since they are not organized to make profit for themselves, as
such, or for their members, as such, but only for their members as producers.”
(Food & Agric. Code, § 54033.) Agricultural cooperatives share many
characteristics with consumer cooperatives. (See, e.g., id. at § 54002, et seq.)
Cooperatives should not purchase marijuana from, or sell to, non-members;
instead, they should only provide a means for facilitating or coordinating
transactions between members.

2. Collectives: California law does not define collectives, but the dictionary
defines them as “a business, farm, etc., jointly owned and operated by the members
of a group.” (Random House Unabridged Dictionary; Random House, Inc.
© 2006.) Applying this definition, a collective should be an organization that
merely facilitates the collaborative efforts of patient and caregiver members –
including the allocation of costs and revenues. As such, a collective is not a
statutory entity, but as a practical matter it might have to organize as some form of
business to carry out its activities. The collective should not purchase marijuana
from, or sell to, non-members; instead, it should only provide a means for
facilitating or coordinating transactions between members.

[Tornadoes28]

Good.

[Floyd MaCGillicuTTy]

I don't smoke and don't particularly care for it, but what a ridiculously stupid waste of resources. Pick another pet issue, Cooley. The war on pot is a failure and a complete joke. What's so hard about this? Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Legalize it, tax it, take the money out of it, and regulate it. Stop wasting money and resources on this. Cooley can be sure he won't be getting my vote next time around.

[OMG]

Not voting for this guy.

[Skeptical]

Have you seen the dispensaries on the Venice Boardwalk? And how the dispensaries in this county market their product? They market it the exact same way as energy drink manufacturers/distributors do. Girls in bikinis, mass marketed handouts, etc. NOTHING "medicinal" about their marketing, if there should be any marketing it should be subject to the same type of restriction to its marketing that medicine products are required to abide by.

Blame the dispensaries for getting greedy and exploiting loopholes. They are very transparent about their real motivation, and its not to 'help sick people'.

[Ben A.]

Elected officials should not be making these decisions.

"Oooh, look at me, I kicked Big Bad Bud out of our fair city. Please re-elect me!"

[Fred]

Steve Cooley. Carmen Trutanich. remember those names come November. Bye bye.

[kooo]

Is there another way than "over-the-counter" purchase? The article doesn't mention the alternative, but if there is such, as a "prescription" mode, then the real cancer patients and chronically ill patients should still be able to purchase legally. If the prosecution of collectives that are 99% filled with non-patients who got a "license" through some "quack" doctor results in $$$ being confiscated and put into city coffers, then I have no problem with that.

[Disgusted]

This is reprehensible. Cooley and Trutanich are grandstanders of the worst possible kind. Considering the serious problems California has with organized crime, which derives so much of its income from the underground drug market, there is no logic behind attacking dispensaries that serve sick people and operate in plain sight.

And even if some clients of dispensaries are just recreational users, who really cares? Oh, I forgot — self-righteous extremists who want to impose their concept of morality on everyone around them. Don't our politicians have far more important problems to tackle, like double-digit unemployment, the gargantuan state deficit, disappearing funding for education, infrastructure that is literally falling apart (hello, water main breakages all over the city), city worker furloughs, etc.?

This registered voter is sick to death of politicians like Cooley and Trutanich and the rest of their ilk who are obsessed with faux moral crusades when they should be spending every waking moment trying to serve their constituents and solve California's myriad problems.

I say vote the bums out of office.

[Not Janet]

Janet,

I use the pharmacey you mentioned in Westwood. I cant tell you how grateful I am for all they have done for me. Not quite sure why anyone would care what I do in my own home - wether its to cure an illness or just relax. I can tell you legitimizing this process is a god send. they help me make informed smart decisions.

People need to live and let live.

[Mike Ryan]

We need to began a recall election against Trutanich and Cooley immediately.

This is not what the people of LA city or LA county elected these guys for.

Someboyd needs to get the petitions going immediately to kick these buttheads out of office.

[iDoc]

Two steps back for California.

[citizen]

Lets all remember these two when election time comes around.

[Maripan]

I don't know of any industry that is begging, BEGGING, to be allowed to pay its fair share of taxes; and look what it gets!!

I hope the citizens of Los Angeles start a recall campaign against the DA and City Attorney.

[Jay]

I'm not really into pot but this is sheer idiocy.

[Dustin K]

Gangs, Murder, Rape, Illegal Immigrants, Robbery, Gangs, Gangs, Gangs, GANGS!!!!!!!!

But no, lets focus on medical marijuana. Our country is so freakin unbelievable sometimes it baffles the mind....

[Daniel]

Trutanich has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he is a liar that was saying anything he could to anyone to get elected. I wonder what his true positions are because he clearly can't be taken on his word alone. Let this be a notice to all of Los Angeles, let's not make the same mistake twice and elect this liar again.

[Patricia]

Has Los Angeles has been free from murders and robberies and rapes lately, that he can afford to devote the public resources necessary to make his stance into a reality?

Maybe we're just a society in decline, that we're spending all our money like this.

There isn't going to be any social return in terms of safety of the citizenry for this massive and hugely expensive law enforcement campaign he's initiating.

The only benefits of this action are political, for him.

Rapists and murderers are probably out celebrating his plans right now, because the heat's going to be off of them for a while.

The country won't have the resources to prosecute 600 dispensaries -- which means about 10,000 people -- and still keep a lid on real crime too.

These medical marijuana people are activists for the most part and they'll all probably insist on being tried by a judge and jury individually, which will end up completely swamping the court system and the jails.

I have to ask -- what has Cooley been smoking, that he thinks this won't cause the criminal court system in LA Country to grind to a screeching halt?

[Bud Greene]

So the police are preparing to overturn the will of the people. Cooley and the others need to go back to US Government 101. The voters decided this issue. For law enforcement to attemp to overturn or ignore law is truly a threat to democracy. Their actions will hasten the the push for total legalization as proposed by Ammiano. California will be the first state to legalize cannibas, and the police, city, and county governments will long for the days when they had some control over the situation. They will lose all control and possibly the current tax revenues when the ballot measure passes. Brilliant. A friend of mine has already asked his dispensary how he can stay in touch with them if they are shut down. The cat is out of the bag in California when it comes to cannibas.

[citizen]

Does this mean that you can be arrested for going to a dispensary?

[Daniel]

"Lets assume about 3% of the population of LA actually need medicinal marijuana. That's 100,000 patients. There are over 800 dispensaries in LA alone. That comes out to 125 patients per dispensary. How do these dispensaries manage to stay in business?"

Anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia might not seem like significant problems to you but they are all issues that effect quality of life. Marijuana effectively deals with all of these problems with drastically less harmful side effects than any other over or under the counter remedy.

That's why Doctor's are given the final authority over who gets and who doesn't get medical marijuana. Why? Because they know better than either of us who needs it or doesn't.

[You medical druggies.]

WOW.. whats next heroin?

Medical Pot is a joke and the people selling it are also. I dont know how they allow this.

"Oh... I have a head ache. let me get High"

I know a location that sells this "medical pot" and I also happen to know the son of the ower gets high all the time... I wonder if its the medical pot he is smoking....

Drink a gallon of vodka and easy your pain... POT HEADS!

[Michael D]

I experience significant back and leg pain from sciatica. I had excellent medical evaluations including an MRI and a consult with a neurosurgeon. Their recommendation was to take Vicodin, an addictive drug that should not be taken long term. I am a 57 year old professional, married with two children, both of whom are educated, ethical, moral, successful young people and one of whom is serving as an officer in the U.S. military (I won't say which branch). I have been employed by the same employer for the past 20 years. My wife (also an employed professional) and I own our home in a good neighborhood and we have decent retirement accounts. I have no criminal record. I have a legal recommendation for medical marijuana, which I smoke at night in order to sleep. I never smoke before or during work. I don't drink alcohol or use other drugs. Can someone (other than the idiots who post ungrammatical messages trashing "potheads") explain to me why these bozo politicians want to mess with my health or force me to take an addictive drug? And by the way, Mr. Trutanich and Mr. Cooley, I vote in every election and I will be sure to vote against you, no matter who is the opponent.

[Brahma]

it's unfortunate that the people behind so-called "medical marijuana" cynically used those with chronic illnesses to get laws making so-called "compassionate use" passed. "medical marijuana" is really just a stalking horse for potheads, dopers and others who want to make recreational use socially acceptable.

Hopefully, the recreational users will decide to clean up their act, stop getting high, and decide to become productive (or, more productive) members of society.

[Vincent Spanos]

How much money do you think these two are getting from the Mexican Drug Cartels? The dispensaries are cutting into their business.

[mike]

This is preposterous. When will our government officials (local, state, and federal) catch up with the will of the people they are supposely representing? No citizen I have ever talked to about this issue feels it should be anything but completely legal, at LEAST for medical reasons, if not overall. These morons in power need to get out; forget trying to tell them to spend their time on more important issues--they don't have the sense to understand.

[Concerned]

How silly. Anyone who has ever smoked cannibis can tell you it's infinitely safer than booze or prescription drugs.

As a patient, I'm very sad to read this. I work in Agoura and live in Ventura. It was very convenient to go to Woodland Hills for medicine. At least I'll still have access to medicine Santa Barbara (for now).

[GABE]

SERIOUSLY if the DA has nothing better to do than to prosecute LEGALLY OPERATING LICENSED shops. They need to get out of their nice homes in cuddly suburbs and see what happens when these kids dont have money and see what it does to their family. All this DB is doing is fullfilling a fauxhemian wet dream of a weak excuse to kick people when they are down. How about after weed gets legalized, saves and brings back the CALIFORNIA economy, this guy will be nothing but a smear on the crap stain of the DA's office.

[Devils Advocate]

We as citizens have the right to RECALL both Steve Cooley and Carmen Trutanich the same way our last governor "Gray Davis" was recalled . If they continue to pursue the closure of dispensaries we have no choice but to get these clowns out of office.

RECALL
RECALL
RECALL

[Toby]

Steve Cooley, you should be ashamed of wasting our tax money on such a stupid law.

You need to be replace with someone more practical and someone who can be trusted with the little tax money we have left.

Let me get this straight. A guy who goes and gets a nose job because of vanity can get Morphine (the legal name for Heroin) but a cancer patient going through chemo can't get a joint because our drug laws were written in the 1940s.

I also can't understand for the life of me that alcohol is on EVER corner of the country...given out at work parties...celebrated in movies....

But Cannabis is soooo evil...that you can't even give to a cancer patient so they can keep food down.

Cooley, again, you need to be replaced. I voted for you once, but never again.

[Big Jim Slade]

Dear Dopers:

The vast majority of you are confusing needs and wants. I cannot believe the truly sick are denied medical marijuana after just speaking to our pharmacist on the subject at length today.

You are not an asset to our society. While I realize you have a patron saint (calling it "Prohibition" indeed!) in the LA Times, most of us do not want this crap around.

Sorry, many of us have have gone through all these arguments long ago... didn't buy it then, don't buy it now.

[chinchupeine]

This whole Marijuana legalization policy is so infantile. One day California approves marijuana consumption for ill people. Another day it makes it illegal. One day The DEA Federal government threatens to arrest users and raid dispensaries. Another day Obama says users and dispensaries will not be raided.

Get the freaking system straight - Grow up and do like the Dutch - Set a policy and stop acting like idiots.

Did we learn anything from THE PROHIBITION?

[Kim]

not unexpected...change the rules.yes lets make the cartels stronger
wonder who is missing their payoff
need more jails, more people in them
wit
how has that worked out ??
great minds in this..NOT

[Charles Jones]

Closing despensaries will not solve the problems that arise with the widespread illegal use of marijuana.

These storefront shops mostly cater those who have prescriptions for the purchasing of pot and it's many uses in the cases of lack of appetites and nausea that are caused by the effects of cancer therapy.

This drug has also been proven to lower the high eye pressure due to glaucoma. Weed has many other proven remedies.

These police tactics will not curb the constant flow of pot into this country and is at best a poor stopgap strategy that is doomed to fail.

[Josh]

Great, more money for the drug cartels, more prison sentences, you and I are criminals for doing something as harmless as alcohol.

[twotone200w]

this is just another way are elected politicians totally ignore the vote of the people. You should take a long hard look at the US Constitution Mr. Steve Cooley and also remember you will be up for election sooner or later and we the people will speak again

[Cal Godot]

Everyone: the "800 dispensaries" number is a lie. It is based on a count of applications, many of which are duplicates. No one - repeat: NO ONE - knows how many dispensaries are actually operating in LA. These arrest-hungry DAs are nothing more than lying politicians who will say one thing while pandering for federal dollars and another when pandering for votes. Medical marijuana is prevailing in court and will continue to prevail. Cooley et al are little more than con men trying to rake in the last dollars from a dying concern. Vote 'em out.

[Harvey]

Even if the medical marijuana business is a sham, who is it hurting? Is the DA upset that someone is making money on this? Obviously, there is a demand for the product maybe that is why there are so many dispensaries, which is a lot less than corner liquor stores, where homeless drunks loiter and harass the customers for spare change.

And is it really "over-the-counter" medicine? You need a prescription from an MD for this so obviously lots of professionals in the medical field think that it's a valid medicine for certain ailments. And the debilitating ailment doesn't have to be apparent, it could be insomnia or arthritis. I know I'd much rather smoke some pot than take a pill and feed the global cor[orate claws of the pharmaceutical companies that rape every patient with exorbitant prices, all in the name of making a profit for their shareholders and executives.

[ST]

"Barry Kramer, operator of the California Patient Alliance, a dispensary on Melrose Avenue, said, "If this is the way it goes, we'll go underground again. There will be a lot more crime."

Is this a threat to the public?! If it is, should he be FBI or local law enforcement agencies' listing for suspects?

[What are they thinking?]

If there was any chance alcohol would be
outlawed Steve Cooley would be the first
to go berserk.

[Wilddl229]

Why are we doing this? Why are we not wasting our money going after Pot dispensaries? Get a clue!! We need to legalize Pot and fast. Let's move on to something different for once!!

[Michael J. Love]

Brillant. Prosecuting cannabis--what a wise use of resources. Of course even the premise of the illegal nature of cannabis is absurd, but here, in a state where the majority favors legalization of cannabis we have a small cadre of prosecutors that believe that they should expend public monies chasing down people who use a substance less harmful than alcohol. All the while, California chases revenue for schools and roads and cops to protect us from violent crimes it seems these dedicated legal professionals believe that shutting down dispensaries for some technical violation and as a result the taxes that flow from those sales is an exercise of wisdom and in the pursuit of justice. Isn't prosecuting a violation of an immoral law like the illegality of cannabis the greater crime and an exercise of remarkable if not breathtaking stupidity?

[Benjie]

You guys voted this guy in, you can vote him out. All the problems California has right now, and this is what this guy wants to spend tax payer money on, Really?

How about not attending pot summits at country clubs and focus on unsolved murders and rapes in the city, or is that too much of a downer for this guy?

[Adam]

This is ridiculous... Our government is demonstrating, yet again, a huge misallocation of my tax money. Wasting money on the frivolous prosecution of a bunch of lazy/harmless stoners... Direct that money towards the prosecution of organized crime in this city and put away some of these violent gang bangers... Freaking priorities! Come on.

[don'tpanic it'sorganic]

To those who don't believe there are enough "sick" people to use marijuana-

There are too many medical uses that have not been considered the norm because marijuana has been classified as an illegal substance and has not been readily available until recently. Weed is not just for cancer patients.

When I was diagnosed with having diverticulitis (in Chicago), I had doctors hoping that I could obtain marijuana to alleviate the severe pain. My stomach couldn't handle ingesting pain killers and Dilauded, through an IV, made me extremely nauseous. Not only did I have a colon infection that hurt like HELL, I was throwing up stomach bile constantly. Marijuana was the only medication that eased my nausea and helped me to begin eating again after 3 days of water and 3 days of broth.

By keeping marijuana legal, the teenage potheads that most people (including myself) don't like will be less likely to view weed as a rare commodity.

[Dave Abbitt]

Regardless of how one feels about the legalization of medical marijuana, common sense dictates this as idiocy. A waste of precious city resources being diverted toward the arrest and prosecution of a generally non-violent, law-abiding community.

Especially when taking into consideration public opinion on this issue, this is government bureaucracy at its worst. How incredibly disappointing!

[ReilleyFam]

With what funds? Every govt entity is out of money, they planning to release 40,000 inmates by Federal Court Order and where are they going to get the money for this onslaught of prosecutions and incarcerations? Don't believe the hype, they may go after the biggest and the most flagrant but logistically they literally can't go after all these places. All this while they are about to put legalization on the ballot and it WILL win. What a sadistic and irresponsible DA - like there are not enough murderers, rapists and child molestors to keep him busy, he has to focus on home-based pot smokers!

[John]

Marijuana is illegal drug under federal law - just what is difficult to understand about that?

The state of California just cannot go around passing laws in contravention of established US laws any more than they can tax postage stamps or government property or even circumvent US civil rights laws.

Get over it and find something else with which to pollute your lungs or kill your brain cells.

[2contango]

It still amazes me that people who are careful about what they eat, avoid unnecessary chemicals on their foods, and avoid tobacco would buy a product without knowing how much active ingredient it has, where it was grown, how it was grown, the chemicals and pesticides used in its production, and the working conditions of those who grow it. What's worse, those who sell marijuana aren't regulated like drug stores or grocery sellers.

Marijuana has some of the same carcinogens as tobacco. And it's associated with schizophrenia and depression. Yet some people think it should be regulated less than food or other drugs. Doesn't make sense.

[Care]

So they want the black market to rise again? Are you kidding? Cooley and Trutanich are initiating a war on the sick at a time when they could raise money through city taxes and licensing fees to put more cops on the street to fight real crime - like murder, rape, assault? What jerks.

[Thrifty Nickel(bag)]

While medical marijuana has major benefits for physically ill patients, is there a dire need in this city for 800 medical marijuana dispensaries? I feel like Frank "Grimey" Grimes, living to the right of a dispensary and to the left of another dispensary. Can't we convert half of these to 99 Cent Stores? Those have been the real boon to our recession-hampered and debt-plagued state; not the dispensaries who haven't circulated any more taxable money back into the statewide economy save for the $500 a month it takes to lease one of these cracker boxes and the $30 it costs to paint it green.

[James]

Medical marijuana is a sham. The seedy characters these clinics bring have forced neighboring legitimate businesses to close their doors. Many of these "sick" patients will buy marijuana inside the clinic then sell it to children nearby. These clinics are not allowed to sell for profit forcing them to have a lot of cash on hand. As they cannot deposit it in the bank. This makes them a target for robberies, which have become more prevalent.

Ask any of these 18 year old kids what medical condition they have that requires them to be prescribed marijuana. They're "stressed". What a joke!

[richie]

yeah, give the profits back to the Mexican Drug cartels.

[tonye]

The LA DA and City attorney must be stoned. What idiots. Maybe someone should give them a shovel and set them to do an honest job filling water main leaks. This state doesn't have the money to put up with such insane and power drunk civil "servants".

[Eric Williams]

When is Steve Cooley going to realize that "We the People" voted for this in 1996, by a large majority. I hope the voters remember to vote him out of office on the next election.

[What]

What!!!!! why is this happening?????

[Bearded Lady V]

Let the dogs bark, the caravan will pass. Nothing and nobody can stop the medical marijuana movement because the opposition is steeped up to their head hairs in total and complete hypocrisy. It may very well turn out that MARIJUANA CURES AND PREVENTS CANCER.

Yes, you read that right. Consider the findings of a 1994 US study, which documented that THC may protect against malignant cancers. The $2 million federal study involved injecting rats and mice in the stomach with extremely high doses of THC, hoping to find a connection between THC and cancer.

What the researchers found was exactly the opposite of what the feds had hoped for. Their study showed that rats given high doses of THC suffered from fewer cancers than their non-injected pals. The feds buried the study for almost 3 years, and it became known only after it was leaked to AIDS Treatment News in January of 1997. The Boston Globe broke the story nationwide days later.

Or you could simply research Rick Simpson's crude documentary on the subject.

Just imagine the outrage and the world discovers the degree of evil America has perpetrated on the world by demonizing cannabis and treating its users like violent rapists and murderers!

No, they suggest you poison yourself, ruin your live and kidneys, go bankrupt and overdose on toxic chemicals because IT MAKES THEM MORE MONEY!

Hypocrites of a historic nature.

Los Angeles, the city of Angels. Yeh, right.

[scottportraits]

I thought they made a lot of money on sales taxes and such.....what a waste of income and revenues for California's poor, depleted budget.

I heard there's a lot of crime in L.A. Maybe each co-op needs a metal detector at the front door.

Now, if there's so much crime in L.A., then why isn't DA Steve Cooley busy prosecuting real crimes and criminals ??

[Scottsdale Jack]

Doesn't law enforcement in LA have better things to do? Like track down dangerous criminals? Or is it just easier for lazy cops and DAs to bust potheads?

[Roman Koons]

Perhaps the City Attorney is working for ACORN and their illiegal drug dealers at the LAPD who are dismayed at the decrease in value now that their contraband product is available to the masses.

I hate pot and pot-heads, I'm a Republican business owner and a pseudo conservative stuck in Silver Lake. The announcement of this attempt at persecution in this city is ridiculous. The city needs to promote ANY type of business it can with an unemployment numbers that are already 20% if you count the real unemployment figures. Let's not fool ourselves, the Government is seriously delusional. Perhaps some of us would open new businesses if the city would strip back it's draconian regulation and permit process. Marijuana is a drug, and yes it's use can cause damage, but people are free to make their own decisions. If a particular dispensary becomes a community nuisance, their are plenty of zoning violations the city could use to remove the clubs. Anything is better than the fake socialist capitalist system we have deployed. The revolution will be to complete communism where none of has to work, because none of us who want to work can, or a complete free for all lasez-faire revolution devoid of zoning and regulation and the public sector.

I think we'd all be better in California went bankrupt and went out of business once and for all. We need Texas style regulation with LA style morals. Step up

[Bud]

Its a plant. Why are we wasting so many resources to arrest, prosecute and house pot smokers ? No wonder our prisons are bursting at the seams. We are paroling sex offenders to make room for Bill and Ted. Stupid !

[Bud]

Its a plant. Why are we wasting so many resources to arrest, prosecute and house pot smokers ? No wonder our prisons are bursting at the seams. We are paroling sex offenders to make room for Bill and Ted. Stupid !

[Richard Steeb]

Note to Cooley:

AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.

Get real. "By any measure of reational analysis" to keep cannabis illegal while tobacco and alcohol are dispensed freely is *MURDEROUSLY STUPID*.

It will be LEGAL soon, idiot. Back off and let the market weed out the losers and greedy. And send the thugs at CNOA out to find honest jobs.

Sincerely,

Richard P Steeb, San Jose California

[Seriously?]

This is a gigantic waste of public resources. I'm guessing that this is a knee-jerk response to the whole "hardship exemption" issue, but two wrongs definitely don't make a right. Just because the moratorium was poorly written does not justify this ridiculous response. I hope our friend Steve Cooley realizes his mistake before he costs us all a lot of time and money with his absurd crusade.

[LA Voter]

Since the LA city council can't get it's act together to agree on the regulation of dispensaries, Cooley and Trutanich are going to waste valuable time and energy (and taxpayer dollars) on criminalizing what the vast majority of educated people know is not a big deal. Then, even more money is going to be wasted when the city is hit with lawsuits by the dispensaries. In these hard economic times, is this the best the city can come up with?

[LA Voter]

Since the LA city council can't get it's act together to agree on the regulation of dispensaries, Cooley and Trutanich are going to waste valuable time and energy (and taxpayer dollars) on criminalizing what the vast majority of educated people know is not a big deal. Then, even more money is going to be wasted when the city is hit with lawsuits by the dispensaries. In these hard economic times, is this the best the city can come up with?

[Seriously?]

This is what taxpayer dollars are spent on during a historic economic crisis?

Are pot dispensaries considered an easy pr win? Any 'victory' will not be seen as a victory in the public eye if this is some sort of political maneuver.

[Michael]

With the LA County budget strained to the breaking point, it is disheartening to see such costly political grandstanding by Mr. Cooley. Mr. Cooley is going to waste our scarce tax dollars to fund a publicity campaign that is going to be conducted on the backs of seriously-ill patients. It is even more disheartening to find Mr. Trutanich, who was thanking medical marijuana patients for supporting his election a couple of months back, is now drinking deep of the Cooley-Aid. Voters will remember those officials whom engage in egregious prosecutions to further their political ambitions.