Los Angeles District Attorney Plans All-Out Assault on City's Pot Dispensaries

[depakid]

And the state wonders why it's fucking bankrupt....

In spite of a law on California books for over a decade which allows the sale of medical cannabis to properly licensed patients, the district attorney in Los Angeles County is preparing an all-out legal assault against the "vast majority" of dispensaries.

"Hundreds of dispensaries operate under a 1996 voter initiative that allowed medical marijuana use, and a state law that allows for collective growing of marijuana," NBC Los Angeles reported. "But based on a state Supreme Court decision last year, Cooley has concluded that over-the-counter sales are illegal. Most if not all of the dispensaries in the state operate on that basis."

"The vast, vast, vast majority, about 100%, of dispensaries in Los Angeles County and the city are operating illegally, they are dealing marijuana illegally, according to our theory," Cooley said, according to The Los Angeles Times. "The time is right to deal with this problem."

That "problem" -- over the counter sales of marijuana to licensed patients -- accounted for some $18 million in tax revenue for the state last year, reported The Christian Science-Monitor, during a time when California is facing the greatest budgetary challenges in its history.

However, those with prescriptions for marijuana account for roughly 10 percent of the state's marijuana users, according to a California NORML report (PDF link) prepared for the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance.

"In a radio interview on KABC-AM (790), Cooley reiterated his plan to close down many of the 800 to 900 medical marijuana shops believed to be operating in the city of Los Angeles," noted the Contra-Costa Times.

"We will give them fair notice and, hopefully, they will see the light and voluntarily close down," Cooley reportedly said. "We are going to uphold the laws of California."

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), a group which advocates the nation-wide legalization of cannabis for adults, strongly disagrees.

More: http://www.alternet.org/rights/143208/los_angeles_district_attorney_plans_all-out_assault_on_city%27s_pot_dispensaries

[kestrel91316]

1. A lot of the pot dispensaries are CO-OPS, owned by those they

provide product to. LA is gonna get sued and lose if they try to shut THEM down.

[paulsby]

2. legalize/decrim it. and tax it

duh. this is not rocket science, people.

any state or jurisdiction that is financially hurting AND spends money going after mj offenses, deserves what they get.

and i say that as a cop with 20+ yrs experience. amazing to me how many guys i work with support decrim. we know mj enforcement is a waste of time.

and of course the ultimate blame for the war on drugs/mj lies with the legislature. only (ONLY) they can fix it. except for those states that have a strong citizen initiative process of course

[asdjrocky]

7. We are in complete agreement.

See? It can happen.

One thing, Ca has a strong citizen initiative process, it's the DA's and the police chiefs we're having problems with here.

If you ask me it's all political, a way for them to appear tough on crime just before elections.

[paulsby]

8. police chiefs and DA's are entirely political

they are both (in most cases) appointed officials. therefore, they are not going to come out with policies contrary to the mayor etc. or risk getting canned.

IACP has often come out anti-RKBA. but IACP doesn't represent COPS. they represent CHIEFS.

they no more represent cops than a group of automaker CEO's represent assembly line workers.

i was hoping the legalization initiative would pass in nevada a few years back.

[asdjrocky]

9. No way I'm getting high in Nevada.

Just wanna go on the record with that. :D

[paulsby]

12. forget about it

that's the best policy. we need to have a reverse total recall program for vegas.

go to vegas. do bad stuff. erase the memories. it NEVER happened

otoh, i notice you mention NEVADA, not just vegas. you clearly know about the other area in nevada. where even more debauchery occurs.

[asdjrocky]

13. Lol, I know Navada pretty well.

Spent a lot of time on both sides of the lake, worked the Reno and Sparks area extensively for the Edwards campaign, and I've spent a great deal of money in Vegas.

But the truth be told I haven't been to Navada for fun in many years. It's too easy to play poker right here in Ca.

[paulsby]

14. i used to love online poker

did quite well by studying my opponents (used a # of programs to keep DETAILED stats)

then my state made it a C felony to play online poker for money.

so, i quit.

bastids!

[asdjrocky]

15. I never got the hang of the on line stuff.

My thing is everyone's got a tell, and it's kind of hard to spot them when I'm not looking across the table.

Guess I'm just an old fashioned criminal!

[paulsby]

16. even online

you can get tells. you do it with bet sizes, and also by how quickly they bet. a difference of a couple of tenths of a second with a given player can tell you a lot.

but for players like you who really depend on tells, offline poker (so to speak) has its advantages.

i preferred the small rake of online poker AND having lots of programs to keep track of my opponents betting patterns for me.

[walldude]

18. Aren't DA's elected officials? n/t

[paulsby]

20. the head DA usually

although not always, is.

the assistant DA's are appointed. they work at the behest of the DA, and unlike cops, usually do not have civil service protection. iow, do it the way your boss wants, or yer out.

but you are right. DA's are generally elected, not appointed.

[Johonny]

11. I agree

[Selatius]

3. Honestly, the DA could spend more time putting away murderers and thugs than pot smokers.

I mean, c'mon. Really? Really? You're gonna waste a ton of resources getting rid of something that brings 18 million into the state in revenue.

Is Cooley trying to position himself for a run at elective office?

[glitch]

4. That would involve work. This lazy asshole is looking for low hanging fruit and easy kudos from rw

backers. You bet he's positioning himself.

[Frank Booth]

21. He's pretty stupid if he is.

This isn't going to be a very popular crackdown.

The number of medical marijuana dispensaries in this city is getting a little ridiculous, though. I have no problem with people using marijuana, but the way it's going pretty soon every store in LA will either sell medical marijuana or frozen yogurt.

[Downtown Hound]

5. I love how he says they're operating illegally

"according to our theory?" And what is your theory jackass? Do you have any evidence at all of wrongdoing or are you just another starry-eyed DA looking to make a name for himself?

[Gravel Democrat]

22. It's Jerry Browns theory

Jerry Brown gets tough on medical pot clubs
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/26/BA4212IJ74.DTL&tsp=1

Atty. General Brown Issues Medical Marijuana Guidelines for Law Enforcement and Patients
http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1601&

Attorney General Jerry Brown Provides Medical Marijuana Guidelines
http://kymk.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/attorney-general-jerry-brown-provides-medical-marijuana-guidelines/

Oakland, SF and other cities have managed to enact guidelines compatible with Browns findings.

LA enacted a "moratorium" with a loophole wide enough to drive 4 elementary schools through.
Many, if not most, LA Dispensaries are not collectives or cooperatives.

In case anyone forgot, Brown is a fairly progressive (D)

Oh, and about 3 weeks ago San Diego cops, with the DEA in tow (despite Holders statement)
raided at least 14 dispensaries. Because the DA argued that buying at one price and selling at
another is "drug dealing".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Dumanis

[corpseratemedia]

6. What an wasteful ass.

He wants cancer patients to really FEEL the nausea. Because that's gonna be a large part of the people he'll be hurting.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. people are shocked about how many pot places have opened... like 800. They are everywhere

[Johonny]

10. I laughed my * off when I heard this

apparently the DA is angry they people are making profit from selling pot to people. These medical pot selling operations were apparently suppose to be not for profit. So Pot the only drug you can't for a profit in California... that makes sense.

[walldude]

17. He reminds me of that crazy woman DA in Pa who spent 12 million

to bust Tommy Chong. 12 million and 10's of thousands of man hours to bust Chong for selling bongs.

And what is this "according to our theory" bullshit? It's either against the law or it's not. According to my theory it's legal and it's pissing you off so you are going to break the law in order to stop people from breaking the law in theory? Asshole.

[Gman2]

19. Yeah, and the fuckers tell landlords that mold damage is ineviteable.

So, the only ones who can afford to get it, as they dont want over the counter, is to grow. And you must be ill, rich enough to own your own place, and can afford to remain so, as you cant work. They want it legal, official, and impossible to get.