Pubdate: Thu, 09 Aug 2012
Source: Grunion Gazette (Long Beach, CA)
Copyright: 2012 Grunion Gazette
Contact:  http://www.gazettes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3434

ENFORCE POT CLOSURE UNTIL LAW CLARIFIES

This Sunday, yet another milestone arrives in the ongoing saga of
medical marijuana cooperatives in Long Beach.

They're all supposed to close.

At least that's what the City Council said on July 3, when it narrowly
voted to not extend exemptions for some cooperatives from a citywide
ban on marijuana outlets.

If that sounds confusing, it is only because it is. That's the result
of more than three years of attempts to regulate medical marijuana
dispensaries, which appeared to be legal under state law.

The convoluted path to Aug. 12's total ban has included several city
ordinances, a botched "lottery" to determine who could and who
couldn't operate a cooperative and court rulings galore. Sadly, the
issue of how to, or whether to, allow medicinal marijuana to be
distributed remains in doubt, both in the courts and in the minds of
city officials.

But as things stand now, any place that sells marijuana -- even to
"members" -- is illegal in Long Beach come Sunday. So all the doors
will close, right?

That's unlikely. After all, there are a number of cooperatives open
now that don't fall under the exemption the city passed for operators
who went through the lottery process. Yes, they are technically
illegal, but it takes city resources to force them to close, and those
resources are scarce.

Will Police Chief Jim McDonnell set up SWAT teams to close all the
co-ops come Sunday? That would seem to be a less-than-efficient use of
manpower. Will City Attorney Robert Shannon send out severely-worded
cease and desist letters? That's more likely, but it's not exactly
rousting the rascals and barring the doors.

Both men will tell you that the marijuana dispensaries are against the
law (particularly the federal law), and must close. Both claim that
the vast majority of these businesses -- and they really are
businesses -- make big money and foster crime.

We'll leave the debate of state law versus federal law --
compassionate use versus controlled substance -- to the courts with
the hope that judges will eventually get off their duffs and provide
some guidance. The bottom line for us is that as of Sunday, Long
Beach's city ordinance says that marijuana dispensaries -- profit or
nonprofit, for medical use or recreational use -- are not allowed
within city limits.

So that means the city should do what it takes to close those
outlets.

Let us be clear -- we favor the state stance that marijuana should be
legal for use by those who need it for medical reasons. We've said
that before in this space, and likely will say it again.

But we also believe that a law that is not enforced is worse than no
law at all. So if you are going to ban cooperatives, you have to
enforce that ban.

We've been leery of our city's previous attempts to regulate the
cooperatives -- it seemed as if fees were very high, yet there weren't
enough requirements to allow people to see the books proving these
places really were nonprofit cooperatives and not money machines for
operators and investors. And it really came as no surprise when the
Long Beach ordinance ran aground on the conflict between state and
federal law -- virtually every other jurisdiction in the state is in
the same situation. It gets worse with contradictory rulings from
different courts (one judge says any ban is illegal, another says
federal law banning sale must take precedence).

Ultimately, it may take a national referendum to settle the marijuana
question once and for all. We'd prefer that to a Supreme Court ruling
on state rights versus federal law, although the later probably is the
more likely of the two.

Until then, we're left to muddle through the situation on our own. We
sympathize with those who truly find marijuana the proper medicine for
what ails them, and believe that they should be able to use the herb
without fear.

How they get the drug remains a quandary. We hope that our lawmakers
and law interpreters try again to come up with a solution.

But as it stands today, dispensaries are not allowed. The doors should
close until that changes.

It's the law.
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MAP posted-by: Matt