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Medical Marijuana: LA City Council Votes to Cap Medical Marijuana Dispensaries at 70
Under a measure passed Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council, the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city will shrink by more than 90%. The council voted to cap the number of dispensaries at 70, while recent estimates put the number of actually operating medical marijuana outlets in the city at between 800 and 1000.
The vote is only the latest in the councilâs torturous and twisted four-year effort to regulate the cityâs booming medical marijuana retail industry. There were four dispensaries in the city when the council first tackled the issue in 2005. By the time the council issued a moratorium on new dispensaries in 2007, there were 186. In the past two years, their numbers have increased four-fold from there.
Of the dispensaries that legally registered with the city prior to the moratorium, officials believe 137 are still open. Those establishments will be allowed to stay open, but may have to move to comply with restrictions on where they may locate.
"I think we should hold true to those that followed the rules," said Councilman Dennis Zine, explaining why he voted to reward dispensaries that were legally registered.
If Los Angeles actually does cap dispensaries at 70, that will mean roughly one dispensary for every 50,000 residents. In Oakland, the only other large city in the state to impose a cap, four dispensaries serve 100,000 residents each. Other, smaller, California cities with caps include Berkeley (one dispensary for each 34,000 residents), Palm Springs (one for each 24,000 residents), West Hollywood (one for every 9,000 residents), and Sebastopol (one for every 3,500 residents).
The council will continue working on its medical marijuana dispensary regulation ordinance tomorrow (Wednesday), and could even see a final vote then.
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Europe: Czech Government Decriminalizes Up To Five Pot Plants, 15 Grams
Beginning January 1, possession of up to 15 grams of marijuana or up to five marijuana plants will not be a punishable offense in the Czech Republic. Likewise, people will be able to possess up to 40 hallucinogenic mushrooms. The limits were announced Tuesday after they were decided on by the cabinet.
Late last year, the Czech parliament approved a new penal code that specified no punishment for the possession of âsmall amountsâ of drugs. But the code did not specify just what constituted a âsmall amount,â with the result that police sometimes charged people, especially home pot growers with more serious offenses. The task of formalizing those limits has been taken up by the Justice Ministry, which submits its proposals to the cabinet.
The ministry has also proposed setting the âsmall amountâ limits for ecstasy at four tablets and for hashish at five grams. Similarly, people could possess up to two grams of methamphetamine without fear of punishment. The cabinet will consider those proposals in two weeks.
Possession of amounts greater than âsmall amounts,â but less than those assumed to indicate drug trafficking, will result of prison sentences of up to one year for marijuana and up to two years for other drugs.
According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addictionâs latest annual report, Czechs are among Europeâs leading pot smokers. Among young Czechs (age 16 to 34), 22% toke up at least once a year. The European average was 16%.
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Latin America: Top Honduran Anti-Drug Official Assassinated
The top Honduran anti-drug official was ambushed and killed today by hit men on motorcycles as he drove alone through the capital, Tegucigalpa. Former army Gen. Julian Aristides Gonzales, 57, director of the Office for Combating Drug Trafficking, died after being hit by multiple shots from the gunmen, who escaped.
Gonzalez had complained of receiving death threats from drug traffickers in the past. He was set to retire in two months and move to Canada.
"We regret the death of this man who offered his life for the welfare of Hondurans," national police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said. "By the decency of his actions, he unleashed a real battle against the main vice that besets humanity."
Along with the other Central American republics, Honduras is a key transit country for cocaine smuggled out of South America and destined for the insatiable markets of the north. Gonzalezâs office this year has seized five tons of cocaine out of an estimated 100 tons that transitâs the country each year.
Trafficking through Honduras is believed to have intensified since the June coup that overthrew President Mel Zelaya. After the coup, the US suspended anti-drug cooperation and development aid to the rump government of interim President Roberto Micheletti.
Honduran police complain that they have detected more aircraft smuggling drugs from South America since the coup, but have had less ability to stop them without US helicopters and radar.
Citing worries about the increase in drug trafficking, Gonzalez held a press conference yesterday to urge the public to help the fight by reporting suspicious activity. He was dead 24 hours later.
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Drug Policy Debate with James C. Bettencourt
Why children & adults use illegal drugs & alcohol. Americaâs best kept secret
www.drugpreventioned.com
In The Trenches
Special Meeting with Jackson's defense attorney K. Lance Rogers
San Diego ASA proudly presents:
Lessons Learned, the Jackson Verdict
K. Lance Rogers, Turner Law Group, APC
Blog
No Marijuana Smoking at the Dog-Sled Races
Apparently, there's no climate so inhospitable that the drug testers won't show up to collect everyone's urine:
The funny part is they've already been drug testing the dogs for several years. I just assumed that the mushers were wasted the whole time. I mean, you're racing a dog-sled through arctic conditions for 1,000 miles with no sleep. According to the comments on the article, some guy once won the thing completely jacked on coke.
It'll be embarrassing next year when no one finishes the Iditarod.
FAIRBANKS -- The Iditarod plans to test mushers for drugs and alcohol in March, a change many mushers have no problem with -- but one that three-time champion Lance Mackey scoffs at.
"I think it's a little bit ridiculous," Mackey said Wednesday night from his home near Fairbanks after a training run. "It is a dog race, not a human race. It (using a drug) doesn't affect the outcome of the race."
Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who has a medical marijuana card, admits to using marijuana on the trail and thinks his success has made some of his competitors jealous. [ADN]
The funny part is they've already been drug testing the dogs for several years. I just assumed that the mushers were wasted the whole time. I mean, you're racing a dog-sled through arctic conditions for 1,000 miles with no sleep. According to the comments on the article, some guy once won the thing completely jacked on coke.
It'll be embarrassing next year when no one finishes the Iditarod.
Blog
Europe: Mayor of Amsterdam Says Cities Need Different Coffee Shop Policy From Border Towns
As the Dutch federal government ponders its next moves in its campaign against the countryâs famous cannabis coffee shops, the mayor of Amsterdam is advising against a one-size-fits-all policy. The needs of major cities are different from those of border towns, and policy needs to reflect those differences, Mayor Job Cohen said.
Cohenâs remarks came in a letter sent Friday to Interior Minister Guusje ter Horst. In it, Cohen argued that Amsterdam differs markedly from border towns, which are tightening up on coffee shops in the face of an influx of drug tourists from more repressive neighboring countries. Tourists in Amsterdam behave differently than the border town shoppers, he said.
"Tourists in Amsterdam usually visit the capital for several days and, in addition to many other activities, sometimes also go to a coffee shop," Cohen wrote.
Cohen also staked out a position against requiring membership to be able to buy marijuana at a coffee shop. That has been a proposal floated by the national government.
And Cohen rejected as ineffective a ban on coffee shops with 250 yards of schools. Underage age youth are already barred from entering coffee shops, he noted, adding that most teens usually have third parties procure their drugs for them.
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A Magical Day in Mexico
This is what passes for good news in the Mexican drug war:
The next day, 9 people were shot. Does anyone still believe that the drug war reduces violence? If so, I've got a condo in Ciudad Juarez I'd love to sell you.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) -- ''Not one person murdered yesterday,'' Ciudad Juarez's leading newspaper proclaimed in a banner headline. It was big news in this border city, ground zero in the drug war -- the first time in 10 months that a day had passed without a killing.
The next day, 9 people were shot. Does anyone still believe that the drug war reduces violence? If so, I've got a condo in Ciudad Juarez I'd love to sell you.
Blog
No Drug Bust is Worth the Life of a Good Cop
Peter Moskos at the LEAP blog discusses the anniversary of the murder of police officer Marcellus Ward:
25 years later, the same counterproductive approaches that took Ward's life are still in effect, more so now than ever. Baltimore is widely recognized as ground zero for urban drug warfare in America and you could throw many more lives into the fire without even denting the drugs and violence for which Baltimore has tragically come to be known. Sadly, that is exactly what will happen.
Nevertheless, Ward will be remembered -- as he should be â for giving his life trying to make his city a better place. And, were it not for his sacrifice, powerful voices for drug policy reform, such as Kurt Schmoke, Neill Franklin and Peter Moskos might never have emerged from Baltimore.
Ward was killed 25 years ago. His assassination and last dying breaths were caught on tape and haunted the memory of many Baltimore police officers.
At a memorial, held where Ward was killed, Commissioner Bealefeld said that it is "not for us to judge the results of his sacrifice." And certainly a memorial to a slain officer is not the time and place for that.
But at some point we need to ask. Why are we risking our lives? What are we getting in return? If we don't ask these questions, more good men and women will die.
25 years later, the same counterproductive approaches that took Ward's life are still in effect, more so now than ever. Baltimore is widely recognized as ground zero for urban drug warfare in America and you could throw many more lives into the fire without even denting the drugs and violence for which Baltimore has tragically come to be known. Sadly, that is exactly what will happen.
Nevertheless, Ward will be remembered -- as he should be â for giving his life trying to make his city a better place. And, were it not for his sacrifice, powerful voices for drug policy reform, such as Kurt Schmoke, Neill Franklin and Peter Moskos might never have emerged from Baltimore.
In The Trenches
Press Release: Tues. -- NY Assembly Hearing on Rockefeller Drug Reform Implementation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2009
CONTACT: Tony Newman at (646) 335-5384 or Anthony Papa at (646) 420-7290
NY State Assembly Hearing on Tuesday to Map Out Next Steps in Implementation of Historic Rockefeller Drug Law Reform
Courts, Treatment Providers and Community-Based Programs to Brief Lawmakers on Expanded Access to Drug Treatment and Alternatives to Incarceration for Most Drug Offenses
The New York State Assembly on Tuesday will hold a key hearing to press forward with implementation of the Rockefeller Drug Law Reform of 2009, soliciting feedback from courts, treatment providers and community-based programs on their readiness and resource needs to carry out the groundbreaking new law.
The reform, which took effect on Oct. 7, eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for most drug offenses, restored discretion to judges to sentence individuals to probation, drug treatment or other alternatives to incarceration, and allows approximately 1,000 people convicted under the old Rockefeller Drug Laws to apply for re-sentencing.
âAs someone who spent 12 years behind bars on Rockefeller charges and another 12 fighting the inhumane laws, I am thrilled that the law has been changed,â said Anthony Papa, author of 15 Years to Life. âBut Rockefeller reform will only be real when those who are behind bars are allowed to come home and those who need help get treatment instead of a jail cell.â
At Tuesdayâs hearing, lawmakers will explore a wide range of issues related to the Rockefeller reform, including: What steps has the court system taken to prepare for and implement the new judicial diversion program, and to ensure that persons who are resentenced have access to community-based reentry programs? Are there sufficient community-based treatment programs available to serve individuals sentenced to treatment or probation, or those released from prison? What are the barriers faced by formerly incarcerated individuals with a history of substance abuse in obtaining public benefits, medical assistance, employment and affordable and stable housing?
These reforms will allow people to reclaim their dignity as we shift from a punitive criminal justice model to a much needed holistic public health framework," said Shreya Mandal, Mitigation Specialist for the Legal Aid Society. "Now it is time to see this reform through by empowering formerly incarcerated individuals with comprehensive re-entry planning. Reform also calls for revamping outdated modes of drug treatment, both in and out of prison, and for making progressive changes in how we respond to addiction.â
Under more limited reforms to the Rockefeller laws signed by Gov. George Pataki in 2004 and 2005 â which authorized resentencing and eliminated life sentences for individuals convicted of certain drug felonies â 584 individuals were released from prison, and just 9 percent of these people returned to jail, far lower than the stateâs 39 percent overall recidivism rate. These results counter claims made by district attorneys and law enforcement officials that sentencing reform leads to disaster.
âOpponents of reform try to scare the public with claims that the âsky is fallingâ every time individuals with substance abuse problems are sent to treatment instead of prison,â said Glenn Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs for The Fortune Society. âBut by working collaboratively among treatment providers and Alternatives to Incarceration programs, stakeholders can ensure the success of New Yorkâs movement toward a public health and safety approach to drug use.â
Enacted in 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws were intended to target drug kingpins, but instead the laws led to the incarceration of thousands of individuals, mostly people of color, for low-level, nonviolent offenses, many with no prior criminal records. Approximately 12,000 people remain locked up for drug offenses in New York State prisons, at a cost of roughly $45,000 per year to incarcerate a single person, compared to an average cost of $15,000 per year for drug treatment, which is proven to be 15 times more effective at reducing crime and recidivism.
The Drug Policy Alliance is the nation's leading organization working to end the war on drugs and promote new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. For more information, please visit: www.drugpolicy.org.
What: NY State Assembly Hearing on Rockefeller Drug Law Reform
When: 10:30 A.M.
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Where: Assembly Hearing Room
250 Broadway, Room 1923, 19th Floor
New York, NY