California, Lawndale

[Midnight toker]

Updated Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Lawndale just says no to marijuana ... for now

City Council puts a moratorium on the medical dispensaries. It has 45 days to study the issue; more extensions loom.

By Andrea Sudano
DAILY BREEZE

The Lawndale City Council imposed a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries this week, temporarily squelching a South Bay couple's plan to set up shop in town while at least two similar businesses already operate in the city.

Becoming the second South Bay city to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, Lawndale council members unanimously agreed Monday that more time is needed to study the specifics of such establishments.

Like Hermosa Beach, which imposed a moratorium in April, Lawndale has 45 days to examine the dispensaries and find its place in the chasm between state and federal laws regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.

"I think there's still some understanding the city has to make with the Sheriff's Department," Councilman Jim Ramsey said. "Forty-five days isn't going to hurt either way."

In the meantime, San Pedro residents Bob and Trudy Burrill must put their plans to open a dispensary in Lawndale on hold.

Seeing the city as a safe and central location for South Bay medicinal marijuana patients, the couple had staked out a location, signed a lease and applied for a business license at City Hall, Mrs. Burrill said.

With no mention of marijuana dispensaries in Lawndale's Municipal Code, the city put the permit on hold until leaders could decide where -- or if -- they should allow such facilities.

But it appears at least two marijuana clubs or collectives already operate in the city, just blocks from Lawndale City Hall, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws' online roster of facilities.

A man who answered the telephone at one facility listed by the Web site confirmed the business was a collective. He directed a reporter's questions to his manager, who did not return a telephone message.

Lawndale Director of Community Development Otis Ginoza, the City Hall staff member who has handled the moratorium, did not know of any businesses in town licensed to dispense medical marijuana.

"As far as I know, there hasn't been a business license issued for medical marijuana," he said, adding that he had heard rumors of dispensaries in the small city.

The city could find no record of business licenses issued to tenants of the respective addresses held by the two dispensaries listed on the roster, said Finance Director Ken Louie.

Operating without a business license is a matter handled by the city's code enforcement officers, Louie said.

Sheriff's deputies could step in if the businesses refused to comply with the city's code or if illegal activity were taking place at the facilities, said Lt. Jim Bitetto of the Sheriff's Department narcotics division.

After the moratorium's 45 day-period lapses, the Lawndale City Council could choose to extend the ban for another 10½ months and then another year if deemed necessary.

Mrs. Burrill hoped an extension wouldn't be necessary.

"This is extremely important for local patients," she said. "We just want to work with the city of Lawndale. ... We don't want them to do the 10 months (extension). We don't want patients to wait. They've been waiting for something to come and be legitimate."

The Board of Supervisors in March approved an ordinance allowing dispensaries in commercial and industrial zones of Lennox, Del Aire and other unincorporated areas.

Dispensaries there must be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, parks, churches and day-care centers. Security guards must also be on site and shops must publicly post their owners' contact phone numbers, among other requirements.

Like Lawndale, other South Bay cities are grappling with the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries within their own jurisdictions.

Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb told the Daily Breeze in April that he was researching the issue and considering the possibility of a moratorium.

Manhattan Beach City Attorney Robert Wadden told the Breeze that the high real estate prices of the beach enclave would likely discourage such facilities from sprouting up in town.

[palmspringsbum]

Originally published Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Updated Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Lawndale to initiate ban of marijuana dispensaries

<span class=postbold>Leaders reject a recommendation to allow but regulate facilities that distribute pot for medicinal purposes.</span>

By Shirley Hsu
DAILY BREEZE

Lawndale City Council members this week quickly shot down a proposal to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, opting instead to direct staff to look into banning the establishments altogether.

Without much discussion on the topic, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to reject the recommendation from the Planning Commission that it adopt the ordinance regulating dispensaries, praised by one medical marijuana advocate for being the most comprehensive set of regulations he had ever seen.

"This ordinance covers everything," said Chris Fusco, a field coordinator for medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, before the council's decision. "I think it perfectly addresses the concerns of the community and the needs of medical cannabis patients."

The ordinance would have required dispensaries not be located within 600 feet of schools, playgrounds, parks, churches and similar community centers; that they close before 7 p.m.; that they not allow minors without a parent; and that they have security guards to patrol the dispensary and a two-block radius surrounding it. Patrons must immediately leave the site and not consume medical marijuana until they return home.

Councilman Larry Rudolph made the motion to reject the ordinance and instead look into a ban.

"I don't think it's appropriate anywhere," he said, adding that because other South Bay cities have banned them, Lawndale would become a magnet for dispensaries. He said he believed drugs would get in the hands of children and that it was too easy to get a doctor's recommendation.

"Until the court sorts this one out, I don't want one here," he said, referring to the conflict between state law, which permits usage of the drug by "seriously ill" patients with doctors' recommendations, and federal law, which classifies the drug as a controlled substance.

Dispensaries have recently met with a cold reception in the South Bay, with Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach issuing temporary or permanent bans. Lawndale in June enacted a temporary ban on the establishments.

The regulations Lawndale rejected would have prohibited alcohol, allowed the distribution of plant cuttings, and limited the amount of marijuana provided to individuals to amounts consistent with state law, a provision Fusco said showed foresight. Many of the regulations were similar to those approved in May by Los Angeles County supervisors for unincorporated areas of the county.

City staff disagreed with the Planning Commission on one point, recommending prohibiting the consumption of marijuana on dispensary property.

Two Lawndale residents spoke in opposition of marijuana dispensaries, and two others spoke in support.

Bob Burrill of San Pedro, who with his wife had hoped to open a dispensary in Lawndale, said on-site consumption is necessary for employees and volunteers because many are patients themselves.


"This is not like a bartender who drinks on the job. It's more like a pharmacist who needs to take Vicodin during the day (to deal with pain)," he said.

Burrill said a typical dispensary has three rooms: a waiting room, a dispensing room and an office for employees.

The last would be the only place where employees would be allowed to consume marijuana through vaporizers or in edible form, but not smoking, he said.

Months ago, the city learned of two dispensaries operating in the city without business licenses.

"The Lawndale Collective," which operated from a Hawthorne Boulevard storefront, left about two months ago after being cited by city code enforcement officials for violating the moratorium, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said.

The other dispensary left town before the city took enforcement action