Palm Springs may allow pot dispensaries, voting is tomorrow night

Cali Cannabis — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:24:24 +0000

Palm Springs could be the first city in Riverside County to allow medical marijuana dispensaries if approved by city council members Wednesday night.

The meeting will open with a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the council chambers at City Hall, according to the agenda. The proposed law limits dispensaries to industrial zones. The city now has at least four dispensaries operating illegally, with at least one more waiting for council approval to open, according to The Desert Sun.

The draft ordinance states that dispensaries would not be allowed within 1,000 feet of each other or within 500 feet of schools, public parks, playgrounds, churches, youth centers or residential areas. Other provisions state that the dispensaries must be set up as nonprofit collectives or cooperatives, as recommended in the guidelines issued by California Attorney General Jerry Brown in August. No one under the age of 18 would be allowed to work in marijuana dispensaries.

Wall Street Journal: California Politics Drive Cannabis Club Crackdown

Cali Cannabis — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:56:27 +0000

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reveals the primary reason why California Attorney General Jerry Brown decided to issue super confusing and extremely vague laws regarding the operation of cannabis clubs. Brown is still trying to distance himself from his late 1970′s nickname of ‘Governor Moonbeam’, as he plans on running for Governor in 2010 with a “tough on crime” platform.

More from the Wall Street Journal, including quotes from cannabis activists and defenders:

Mr. Brown’s guidelines say medical-marijuana dispensaries — which operate in a legal gray area — should operate as small nonprofits. The guidelines instruct state law-enforcement officials that “excessive amounts of marijuana” and “excessive amounts of cash” may indicate a dispensary is operating unlawfully. “There’s no blank check to sell marijuana in California,” Mr. Brown said in an interview, adding that he believes many marijuana sellers are “shadowy enterprises.”
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While medical-marijuana advocates don’t like the prospect of tightened restrictions, some said the new guidelines should help them to comply with the law. “It reduces the subjectivity of law enforcement,” said Joe Elford, who is chief counsel with the marijuana-advocacy group Americans for Safe Access. He said the majority of marijuana clubs in the state are small operations that already comply with the guidelines.

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Allison Margolin, a criminal defense attorney who represents marijuana dispensaries, said the new guidelines don’t explain the difference between for-profit and non-profit organizations. “Law enforcement will use this vagueness to continue to prosecute people,” she said.

California Cannabis » Jerry Brown

Palm Springs may allow pot dispensaries, voting is tomorrow night

Wall Street Journal: California Politics Drive Cannabis Club Crackdown