California, West Hollywood

[budman]

<span class=postbold>See Also</span>: Ordinance No. 05-716U

<span class=postbold>See Also</span>: <a class=postlink href=http://nt2.scbbs.com/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=567570&advquery=medical%20marijuana%20dispensary&infobase=procode-6&record={1C84}&softpage=Browse_Frame_Pg target=_blank>West Hollywood Municiple Code §7.32.010</a> - Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

<span class=postbold>See Also</span>: <a class=postlink href=http://www.palmspringsbum.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?p=693#693 target=_blank>City bans outlets for medical marijuana</a> (mentioned in article about Monterey Park passing 45-day ban.)

West Hollywood To Consider Easing Enforcement Of Marijuana Laws

POSTED: 4:14 pm PDT June 16, 2006
NBC TV 4


WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Pot smokers wouldn't have to worry about possessing small amounts of marijuana in West Hollywood -- or smoking it in private -- if the community's City Council adopts a proposed resolution on Monday.

The resolution would instruct the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which patrols West Hollywood, not to target adults who possess small amounts of marijuana or smoke the herb in private, city officials said.

Minors and drug dealers would still be subject to arrest, and smoking in public would still be prohibited.

The council has already voted to allow dispensaries of medical marijuana under the state's compassionate care law approved by voters in a statewide initiative, said Councilman John Duran.

Several dispensaries that sell medical marijuana to patients with a doctor's prescription for the drug have been operating in the community for more than a year.

The community also has a large gay population, some of whom are living with HIV, and Duran said some patients use marijuana to relieve side effects from AIDS medications.

"Council was unanimous earlier on in supporting medicinal use of marijuana," he said. "This goes a step further. As far as I know, we're the first city in Southern California to attempt to do this. A couple of my colleagues are somewhat conservative -- not sure what they'll do -- but I believe it'll pass."

Duran said he believes the resolution will get the three out of five votes needed to pass. If approved, the new rules would go into effect "immediately," he said.

The council decided to take up the issue to avoid a costly ballot initiative regarding marijuana use being pushed by a local marijuana advocacy group called the West Hollywood Civil Liberties Alliance.

If the council approves the resolution, the group has agreed to drop its initiative, which would save the city thousands of dollars, Duran said.

The policy change was initially proposed as an ordinance, but was changed to a resolution to avoid conflicts with state and federal laws, Duran said.

An ordinance is a law, while a resolution would merely send law enforcement the message that they should "focus on more serious crimes," he said.

"Under state law, possession of marijuana is still illegal under the California Health and Safety Code," Duran said. "We cannot pass laws that contradict state or federal law, but we can give direction to our sheriff's department that we consider marijuana for personal use to be a very low priority and that (officers) instead focus on more serious crimes in the city of West Hollywood."

Duran noted that after the council passed another resolution recommending that officers not arrest couples engaging in sex acts in cars that the number of such arrests went down.

According to Duran, the city asked law enforcement to merely "tap on the window of the car and say `go home,"' instead of arresting couples found having sex in cars, which legally constitutes lewd conduct and a crime.

He added that if deputies ignored the council's resolution, the city could opt to not renew the sheriff's contract to operate in West Hollywood and contract with another police department such as Beverly Hills, or start its own police department.

Although a resolution regarding small amounts of marijuana would not be binding on the sheriff's department, Duran said he expects deputies would comply.

"I think, deep down, they really feel the same way we do," he said.

[Midnight toker]

Posted on Tue, Jun. 20, 2006

West Hollywood leaders vote to 'leave the pot smokers alone'

The Mercury News
Associated Press

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - City leaders adopted a resolution Monday night calling on sheriff's deputies not to target certain adult marijuana users.

The City Council backed the resolution 4-0, said city spokeswoman Tamara White. Councilman Jeffrey Prang, who also serves as an assistant to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, abstained from voting, she said.

The resolution directs the Sheriff's Department, which contracts with this left-leaning city, not to "target adult marijuana users who consume this drug in private and pose no danger to the community."

Minors and drug dealers would still be subject to arrest, and smoking in public would still be prohibited, the resolution says.

The resolution is not legally enforceable, but sends a message that law enforcement officers should "leave the pot smokers alone" and go after more serious crimes, said Councilman John Duran, the resolution's sponsor.

"Marijuana, you know, a joint or two is just so far down on the scale it doesn't seem worthwhile to allocate any sources to the enforcement of the marijuana laws," said Duran, who also works as an attorney.

Baca had no immediate comment because he hadn't reviewed the motion, said sheriff's spokeswoman Kerri Webb.

Duran initially wanted an ordinance, which would be enforceable, but instead opted for a resolution to avoid conflicts with state and federal laws that prohibit marijuana possession.

"We cannot do anything that contradicts state law, but what we can do is direct our local law enforcement in terms of what we want them to prioritize," he said.

Though the resolution isn't binding, Duran said he expects deputies to comply.

"I think, deep down, they really feel the same way we do," he said.

The city has a large gay population, some of whom have HIV, and Duran said some patients use medical marijuana to relieve the side effects from AIDS medication.

The City Council "was unanimous earlier on in supporting medicinal use of marijuana," he said. "This goes a step further."

__

On the Net:

City of West Hollywood: http://weho.org/

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Fri, Jun. 23, 2006

WEST HOLLYWOOD RESOLUTION TAKES A HIT AT POT LAW

Council urges deputies to go easy on marijuana smokers

By JACOB ADELMAN
Associated Press
The Monterey Herald

WEST HOLLYWOOD - This little city has some big political ideas.

It was one of the first cities in the nation to ban indoor smoking in public places and to call for businesses to offer benefits to domestic partners of employees.

Now the enclave of coffee shops, bookstores and nightclubs wedged between Hollywood and Beverly Hills has aimed its lance at marijuana law with a nonbinding resolution urging deputies that patrol the city to go easy on pot smokers.

''We didn't declare it legal, but declared the sheriff should spend more time pursuing people that do more serious crimes,'' said Hernan G. Molina, deputy to Councilman John J. Duran, who sponsored the resolution.

The resolution is unlikely to have a major impact on its own. But taken with successful ballot measures in bigger cities like Denver and Seattle that limit punishment for possessing small amounts of marijuana, it reflects what could be a shifting attitude across the country.

''The municipalities are moving ahead of the feds,'' said Patrick Murphy, a drug policy expert at the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco.

''We're starting to see some folks that are saying the laws on the books are still on the books, but maybe we're going to treat them a little differently. And maybe that's a precursor to getting them off the books,'' Murphy said.

The West Hollywood City Council on Monday unanimously declared that it's not city policy to target marijuana possession and consumption by adults in their homes. It did, however, urge the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which patrols the city, to keep pursuing dealers, young users and people who smoke pot in public.

It was the latest in a series of moves that have put the city ahead of the political curve -- and sometimes completely off the chart -- since its incorporation in 1984.

Known for its gay community, the city of 35,000 people was one of the first in the country to recognize domestic partnerships. It was a leader in supporting medical marijuana use and outlawing the sale of Saturday night specials -- the small, cheap handguns that city leaders said contribute to violent crime.

One city resolution urged Congress to repeal the ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy on gays in the military.

The marijuana resolution was meant to send a message.

''Marijuana should be legalized and regulated,'' Molina said. ''In order for the federal government to get it, smaller communities have to start doing things to send the message upward.''

On the ground in West Hollywood, residents and authorities said little was likely to change as a result of the resolution.

One reason is the city does not directly oversee the Sheriff's Department. Instead, it contracts with the agency rather than fielding its own police department.

Another is the resolution won't supersede state and federal drug laws that don't require the arrest of people found with less than an ounce of the drug.

Only 139 of the 6,900 drug offenses reported in the area from Jan. 1, 2005 to Jan. 31, 2006 resulted in marijuana citations, said sheriff's Capt. David J. Long, commander of the West Hollywood substation.

Most came when deputies found marijuana on suspects in other crimes, he said.

''It has been a very low priority up to this point,'' Long said.

Pharmacist Kimmy Runse has never seen anyone hassled for pot in the city, even though she has clients who use it as medicine.

The City Council passed its resolution as the West Hollywood Civil Liberties Alliance, a marijuana smokers rights group, prepared a ballot measure calling for similar action.

Council members wanted to save taxpayers the expense of a ballot measure and also saw an opportunity to take a stand on another big-picture issue.

''The message is that what you do in private is your own problem,'' Molina said.

------

On the Net:

http://www.weho.org/

[Midnight toker]

Only legal smoke sniffed out at West Hollywood pot fest

By NOAKI SCHWARTZ

The Press-Enterprise
September 30, 2006

WEST HOLLYWOOD

The only smoke at the first annual medical marijuana festival on Saturday appeared to come from cigarettes.

Organizers of the event said they strongly discouraged people from lighting up at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium. Attendees still managed to show support by wearing T-shirts with marijuana leaves on them or by buying one of the many glass pipes for sale.

The gathering celebrated the 10th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 215, which declared the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes legal in California.

Assemblyman Paul Koretz, adorned in a synthetic lei of the spidery leaf, was on hand to recognize key figures in the medical marijuana movement. The West Hollywood Democrat championed legal access to the drug, which is used by people with AIDS and cancer to ease pain and nausea.

"It is fitting that we celebrate this anniversary in the pioneering city of West Hollywood, a community that has always believed in medical cannabis and cared for medical cannabis patients," he said.

West Hollywood was the first city south of San Francisco to have a medical cannabis dispensary, after voters approved legalizing the drug for therapeutic use in 1996. In 2003, state legislation was approved allowing counties to issue identification cards to medical users to protect them from prosecution by local law enforcement.

Federal law, however, continues to prohibit marijuana use. In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal authorities could still seize and destroy marijuana stashes and arrest growers and consumers in the 11 states that allow medical marijuana use.

One of the few speakers at the festival who seemed to rouse the otherwise mellow crowd of both young and old was Dennis Peron, who wrote Proposition 215. He proposed another assignment for federal drug agents.

"Let's send the DEA agents out to Afghanistan where they can do good!" he shouted.

The crowd cheered even louder when he added that even more marijuana should be grown.

Bill Britt listened, sitting in a scooter chair decorated with plastic marijuana leaves. Britt, who contracted polio as an infant, has epilepsy, a fused ankle and has difficulty walking. Because of the threat of seizures, there are few medications he can take, and he said medical marijuana has helped ease the constant pain he feels.

"They say marijuana is a crutch and I would agree," he said, looking at his own wrist crutches. "Crutches let me get through life and ease my pain. They assist me."

Published: Saturday, September 30, 2006 15:11 PDT

[palmspringsbum]

City of West Hollywood Officials Decry DEA Raids on Five Marijuana Dispensaries

Jan 17 2007, 8:52 PM EST
genetic engineering news

City of West Hollywood officials reacted swiftly today to news that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had raided and shut down five medicinal marijuana dispensaries located in West Hollywood. "The City of West Hollywood has had a long-standing commitment to the compassionate use of medical marijuana for those persons who are facing catastrophic illnesses," said City Manager Paul Arevalo. The DEA's enforcement of federal drug laws against the dispensaries conflicts with Proposition 215, a ballot measure approved by the California voters in 1996 decriminalizing the use of medical marijuana.

The following five marijuana dispensaries located in West Hollywood were raided by the DEA today:
<ul class=postlist>
<li> 7828 Santa Monica - Alternative Herbal Health </li>

<li> 7825 Santa Monica - Medical Marijuana Pharmacy </li>

<li> 7901 Santa Monica - West Hollywood Caregivers </li>

<li> 8464 Santa Monica - California Cannabis Pharmacy </li>

<li> 8921 Sunset - West Hollywood Center for Compassionate Healing </li>
</ul>
Just last night the West Hollywood City Council introduced an ordinance establishing permanent regulations to mitigate the impacts of medical marijuana dispensaries, following a two-year moratorium. "The DEA raids came as a complete surprise to the City," said Arevalo. "It is regrettable that the federal, state and local governments cannot work together on this issue."

The City of West Hollywood has been a long-standing supporter of the use of marijuana that is prescribed, dispensed and used for medicinal purposes. West Hollywood is home to a disproportionately large percentage of seniors afflicted with a variety of chronic illnesses, and people with HIV and AIDS, for which medicinal marijuana diminishes suffering.

Here are comments regarding today's DEA action from two West Hollywood City Councilmembers:

"The state of California voted to allow marijuana for medical purposes," says West Hollywood City Councilmember Abbe Land. "The City of West Hollywood along with other cities across the state have established regulations to govern the dispensing of medical marijuana, so that people whose lives depend on this drug can be assured of safe access to their medicine. The DEA should spend their time going after dispensaries that are not operating in accordance with local ordinances, as well as unscrupulous doctors who write illegitimate prescriptions," she continued.

"Today's actions again demonstrate the skewed priorities of the Bush administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration," says West Hollywood City Councilmember Jeffrey Prang. "Providing safe access to medical marijuana for those living with serious and often painful illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and other terminal diseases is something this City supports. We have worked closely with our community to insure these establishments operate safely and comply with the spirit of Proposition 215 adopted by the voters of California," he continued.

[palmspringsbum]

Jan 17, 2007 7:36 pm US/Pacific

Feds Raid 5 Of 7 Medical Marijuana Clinics In WeHo


(CBS) WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Federal agents raided five of the seven medical marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood Wednesday, along with six others throughout Los Angeles County, authorities said.

West Hollywood city officials said Drug Enforcement Administration raids were carried out at dispensaries at 7828, 7825, 7901 and 8464 Santa Monica Blvd., and at a dispensary at 8921 Sunset Blvd.

Sarah Pullen of the DEA said six other dispensaries were searched, including four in the San Fernando Valley, one in Hollywood and one in Venice.

She said she could not provide specifics of the raids because the warrants were under court seal, "but obviously we are looking for marijuana and other illegal drugs, marijuana edibles and evidence of ongoing criminal activity and anything from paperwork to documents -- you name it."

Several people were detained but none were arrested, Pullen said, although she said arrests may be forthcoming.

She said although medical marijuana is legal in California, "federal law doesn't differentiate. Marijuana is illegal in any form."
"... The DEA is here to enforce federal drug laws," she said.

"Federal law does have supremacy over state law where there is a difference between federal law and state law by a ruling of the Supreme Court. Therefore, marijuana is illegal."

West Hollywood officials decried the raids.

"The city of West Hollywood has had a long-standing commitment to the compassionate use of medical marijuana for those persons who are facing catastrophic illnesses," City Manager Paul Arevalo said.

Pullen said the places that were served with search warrants were chosen through "citizen complaints and increased criminal activities surrounding the establishments, from parking violations to armed robbery to break ins to graffiti to hand-to-hand sales outside."

She said there are at least 200 marijuana distribution centers operating in Los Angeles County.

Sheriff's Deputy Ed Hernandez said the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provided traffic control and security in the West Hollywood locations.

West Hollywood City Councilman Jeffrey Prang said he drove by one of the locations this afternoon and it had been taped off.

"The DEA was inside, going through computer files and papers," said Prang, who is employed by the Sheriff's Department in a civilian capacity.

The raids came on the heels of a vote by the West Hollywood City Council last night "toughening the restrictions affecting these establishments," said Prang.

"West Hollywood has been a leader and advocate of the compassionate use of marijuana for people with HIV and other serious illnesses who find it brings them relief," Prang said.

He said marijuana is known to lessen the nausea connected with chemotherapy treatments used to treat cancer and also helps people with HIV or AIDS who get "wasting syndrome."

The marijuana helps them maintain their appetite, he said.

"I'm not an expert, but if people are terminally sick or are suffering, why would one deny them access?" he said.

He said another medical marijuana dispensary was raided in the San Fernando Valley last week, and several in Northern California were raided over the last few weeks.

Arevalo said the city had no advance knowledge of the raids.

"It is regrettable that the federal, state and local governments cannot work together on this issue," he said.

Supporters of the medical marijuana dispensaries said they plan to stage a protest at West Hollywood City Hall tomorrow to condemn the raids.

"The DEA continues to say that they are not going after patients," said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access. "But every time they raid a medical cannabis dispensary, hundreds of the most seriously ill lose their access to medicine."