Pubdate: Fri, 02 Jul 2010
Source: Glendale News-Press (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Times Community Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.glendalenewspress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/167
Author: Bill Kisliuk

ANTONOVICH CALLS FOR BAN ON POT DISPENSARIES

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich is seeking a ban on
medical marijuana clinics in unincorporated areas, including the
Crescenta Valley.

In seeking the ban, Antonovich cited the explosive growth of pot
dispensaries in the region, difficulties in enforcing restrictions on
existing clubs and the fact that more than 100 California cities have
banned the clinics. The county Board of Supervisors is slated to
address the proposal Tuesday.

Glendale, which has no legal dispensaries, has a moratorium in place
while city attorneys draft their own ordinance. But the push comes as
Los Angeles cracks down on dozens of pot dispensaries.

"Unincorporated communities which are adjacent to cities that have
banned medical marijuana dispensaries will become the obvious 'locale
of choice' for dispensary operators," Antonovich wrote in his motion
for a ban.

His spokesman, Tony Bell, said leaders in La Crescenta, as well as in
the San Gabriel and Antelope valleys, have sought help in keeping
dispensaries out, and noted that Antonovich's district includes more
unincorporated areas than any other county supervisor.

"This is a proactive solution that will protect the interest of our
unincorporated communities and ensure some consistency with regard to
the way cities are proposing bans and moratoriums," Bell said.

Business and political leaders in La Crescenta said they favor the
proposed ban.

Cheryl Davis, president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council, said she
"absolutely supports" Antonovich's effort.

Pot dispensaries are banned along Foothill Boulevard, but that doesn't
mean they couldn't pop up elsewhere without a new law, she said.

Howard Hakes, president of the Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol
Prevention Coalition, said the ban on dispensaries shouldn't preclude
other avenues for those who had a medical need for marijuana.

"As you hear the stories of how they're fighting the dispensaries in
the city limits of Los Angeles, it's clear there is no good to come
from it. If it is legal to have medical marijuana, let them go to
their doctor and get it," he said. "But to have these little
pharmacies doesn't help anybody."

Representatives from the Los Angeles office of California NORML, a
group advocating for the legalization of marijuana use, could not be
reached Thursday.

But Russell Jackson, assistant manager of the Foothill Wellness Center
in Tujunga, which sells medical marijuana, said the regulation of
dispensaries in Southern California was already vigorous and that
clubs far from city centers play an important role for patients.

"We have patients with travel and health restrictions, and having a
dispensary they can access easily is a good value to them," he said. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D