In 1996, California voters approved an initiative that exempted certain patients and their primary caregivers from criminal liability under state law for the possession and cultivation of marijuana. In 2003, the Legislature enacted additional legislation relating to medical marijuana. One of those statutes requires the Attorney General to adopt “guidelines to ensure the security and nondiversion of marijuana grown for medical use.” (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.81(d).(1) To fulfill this mandate, this Office is issuing the following guidelines to (1) ensure that marijuana grown for medical purposes remains secure and does not find its way to non-patients or illicit markets, (2) help law enforcement agencies perform their duties effectively and in accordance with California law, and (3) help patients and primary caregivers understand how they may cultivate, transport, possess, and use medical marijuana under California law.

examiner.com

At first glance, Richard Lee looks nothing like a man who regularly smokes dope and spent his youth working with rock 'n' rap gods from Aerosmith to LL Cool J. Or who gunned his Harley up and down Texas highways as a young man, and has a will as stubborn as iron.

He looks like, well, a quiet business yuppie. In a wheelchair. With tidy slacks and button-down shirt, short-cropped hair and a shy smile.

sfgate.com

The Bay Area's roaring cannabis economy has a new yardstick: the first-ever High Times Medical Cannabis Cup on June 19 and 20 in San Francisco at Terra. The 35-year-old counterculture magazine has hosted its famed Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam every year for more than twenty years now, making it a global tourist attraction. Of course, buying a $60 ticket does not get you anything to smoke.

eastbayexpress.com

For the first time in US history, there is a state initiative to legalize marijuana possession, use, and production for all adults: the California Control & Tax Cannabis Initiative, which will come to a vote in November. Unfortunately, there are some "marijuana activists" who are aggressively opposing the brilliant initiative. In this article I will address some of the myths being told about this initiative, and why I fully support it.

cannabisculture.com

The Los Angeles City Attorney's office on Tuesday released a list of 439 marijuana dispensaries that have been ordered to shut their doors after a new city council ordinance went into effect beginning this week. [Updated at 6:06 p.m.: ]

latimes.com

Photo Gallery: Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

In some of the most spectacular examples of adaptive reuse, medical marijuana dispensaries have cropped up across the Pacific Southwest, staking out vacant commercial space for pop-up pot shops delivering high-grade cannabis to California patients. But not for long; an ordinance passed yesterday will shutdown more than 400 stores over the next six months.

flavorwire.com

Loophole in LA's New Marijuana Ordinance

Los Angeles's new medical marijuana ordinance has a loophole that allows dealers to sell pot over the internet and deliver it to their customers, and a city council member wants to put a stop to that.

Councilman Jose Huizar filed a motion on Tuesday that would ban so-called mobile dispensaries.

"The city has received dozens of complaints regarding this new ruse that has arisen in an attempt to circumvent city and state regulations governing the city's collectives," Huizar said in the motion.

myfoxla.com

Today, the City of Los Angeles will begin enforcing its ordinance regulating storefront medical marijuana dispensing collectives. The ordinance will force most of the city’s collectives to shut down (over 400 establishments), while the remaining 138 or so (those who registered with the city prior to Nov. 13, 2007) will have to comply with new zoning laws that are stricter than those for adult entertainment businesses, retail alcohol vendors, and pharmacies.

opposingviews.com

Law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles begin cracking down on the city's medical marijuana dispensaries Monday. Hundreds of dispensaries will be found noncompliant with new regulations aimed at putting some limits on this booming industry.

scpr.org

Medical marijuana patients and dozens of dispensaries lost an eleventh-hour bid Friday to stop a city ordinance from going into effect next week, but a judge indicated that both groups may have a legitimate basis for an injunction at a later date.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant cleared the way for the ordinance to take effect Monday by denying more than a dozen requests for a temporary restraining order to bar the city from enforcing the law, which would force more than 400 shops to shutter their doors.

latimes.com
nytimes.com