Pubdate: Mon, 07 Jun 2010
Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.dailynews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246
Authors: Rick Orlov And C.J. Lin
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MARIJUANA LAW TAKES EFFECT IN LA

The day both welcomed and dreaded by the medical  marijuana community 
finally arrived Monday, when the  law regulating clinics in Los 
Angeles took effect.

A steady parade of operators filed into Los Angeles  City Hall and 
paid $324 in application fees, which  placed them on a list of 
clinics that will be notified  in a month if they are eligible to 
continue operating.

Elsewhere, however, owners kept their dispensaries  shuttered, not 
willing to take a $2,500-a-day risk by  flouting the law.

"Sorry! We are closed for the time being," a makeshift  sign taped to 
the locked front door of the Green Joy  dispensary in Woodland Hills read.

Still, many of the 440 outlawed clinics - those that  opened after a 
November 2007 moratorium took effect -  are pinning their hopes on a 
hearing scheduled for June  18, when a judge will hear arguments on 
lawsuits  challenging the new law.

Frank Sheftel of the TLC Clinic in North Hollywood,  said there is a 
lot of uncertainty among clinic  operators, even those who are 
confident they will meet  the city's new requirements for operation.

"The system is so confusing and everyone wants to make  sure they 
have their application in on time," Sheftel  said as he stood in line.

Monday was the first of five days in which the  estimated 137 clinics 
that registered prior to the city  moratorium can file their request 
for priority status.

At the same time, the City Attorney's Office is  developing 
procedures for the Los Angeles Police Department to  follow up on 
with the more than 400 clinics that have  been notified they had to 
close. It has not been  decided whether to pursue civil or criminal 
proceedings  for those that refuse to comply.

"We continue to work with the City Attorney's Office on  establishing 
an enforcement strategy," said Capt. Kevin  McCarthy of the LAPD's 
Gangs and Narcotics Division.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said the department is  waiting to see how 
many of the clinics comply  voluntarily.

"We want to wait to see how well people comply with the  law and we 
will make a determination then on the next  steps," Beck said.

Many of the clinics' operators say they plan to shut  down for now, 
with the hopes the city's law will be  overturned in court. The 
clinic operators argue the  city registration procedure was arbitrary 
and its new  regulations - requiring the clinics to be more 
than  1,000 feet from sensitive areas - are too restrictive.

They also say that patients will be denied ready access  to medical 
marijuana with few clinics around the city.

Larry Taylor, 59, stopped by the Green Joy clinic on  Ventura 
Boulevard in hopes that it would still be open  although the law had 
taken effect.

"I need to get my prescription refilled and now that's  not going to 
happen," said Taylor, of Thousand Oaks,  who takes marijuana to treat 
rheumatoid arthritis.  "It's very frustrating. It's very difficult to 
know  which way to go from here."

However, one real estate business said it has found a  new market in 
finding suitable locations for the  clinics.

"We've already found locations for eight clinics and  have sent out 
information to more than 120 that might  be facing questions about 
their operations," said Linda  Kaye, who developed an offshoot of her 
commercial-industrial business.

"We started this because we were hearing people getting  bombarded 
with calls from attorneys seeking a fiscal  high," Kaye said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom