MMJ Update: The Latest from LA and the State Supreme Court

LA Citizens To Vote On Medical Marijuana Ordinance in May

There are now three medical marijuana measures that will likely be on the May 21st ballot for the citizens of Los Angeles to vote on. Two of these measures are “Pre-ICO” ordinances, which means only those collectives who were open before September 2007 will be allowed a chance to register for a business license. In order to qualify, the collective must pay city taxes, pass annual background checks, keep away from residential zones (these distances have not been clarified as of yet), maintain certain distances from schools, parks, child care facilities, other designated places and other collectives, and meet other requirements and operational standards.

The third measure will allow any collective to operate so long as it meets certain requirements. Under this measure, collectives cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school, which is defined as a place that offers instruction to children in kindergarten or grades 1-12. In addition, collectives cannot be within 500 feet of a public park, public library, licensed child care facility, youth center, substance abuse rehabilitation center, religious institution or any other collective. Under this measure, priority registration will be given to collectives that have been operating in the city before October 2012. Then after nine months, the registration will be open to any other collective that wants to apply. Lastly, this measure would impose a 6-percent tax on collectives.

California Supreme Court to Rule on Whether Cities Can Ban or Not

Those in the industry are now eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court of California’s ruling on whether cities and counties can or cannot ban collectives from operating. The court heard oral arguments on Feb. 5 and now has 90 days to issue its ruling—and typically they do wait until the 90th day. So sometime before May 5 we should know the answer.

If the Court says that cities cannot ban collectives, then you will likely see many cities open up to collectives by enacting ordinances that regulate collectives. Many cities will be reluctant to do this, however, so it could take them many months to get something passed. Those cities that do not want collectives may end up passing overly restrictive, back-door ban-type ordinances. In other words they will create an ordinance that is very difficult to comply with or that only leaves very limited places to operate. That could lead to years of more litigation as to whether or not the city’s regulations violate the stated purpose of the Compassionate Use Act and Medical Marijuana Program Act, which is to provide “safe access” to the medicine.

If, on the other hand, the Supreme Court rules that cities and counties can ban collectives, you could see more cities ban collectives and others that were not previously enforcing their ban could now start to sue collectives to shut them down. But all will not be lost. Just because the Supreme Court says cities can ban, it does not mean that they have to ban. Some cities that were anti-medical marijuana are now starting to discuss having an ordinance that allows collectives. One such city is San Diego—there is a new mayor in town and he is pushing the city council to allow collectives to operate. This is something we would not have expected even six months ago as San Diego used the feds to shut down all collectives in the county.

Also, even if a city does ban, the citizens can still gather enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot—similar to what the patients in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana have recently done. Also, the state legislature can step in and amend the law to state specifically that cities cannot ban collectives—there is some talk that this could be in the works. And then don’t forget delivery services. So far, they have been relatively untouched by cities and counties with bans.

Attorney Damian Nassiri is the founding partner of the Cannabis Law Group, a law firm dedicated to the rights of patients, collectives and growers. His firm offers consultations and nonprofit incorporations to those who are interested in starting their own medical marijuana collective. You can reach Cannabis Law Group at (714) 937-2050 or visit the law firm’s website at www.cannabislawgroup.com.