Dispensaries

City officials want to clamp down on groups that dispense marijuana for medical purposes in Laguna Beach. The City Council — with no public comment and little council comment — unanimously approved an ordinance Aug. 1 that would prohibit the city from issuing business licenses to businesses that are "illegal or unlawful under city, state or federal law." No mention was made of the fact that medical marijuana was the origin of the ordinance. Nor were the proposed ordinances brought to the city's HIV Advisory Committee for advance comment, Dr. Korey Jorgensen, committee chairman and HIV specialist, said.

Advocates and opponents of medical marijuana voiced their opinions Wednesday at a Planning Commission hearing on a proposed ordinance that would legalize dispensaries in Laguna Beach. The commission hearing was a review of a draft ordinance ordered by the City Council, comporting with a state law passed in 1996 that exempts “qualified users” and lawful suppliers from criminal prosecution. The ordinance, if adopted, would put Laguna Beach in the minority of cities in surrounding areas.

FOR THE RECORD: Scott Alan should have been identified as a former chairman of the HIV Advisory Committee in a story, ?Halt put on pot dispensaries? in the Feb. 27 issue.. Laguna Beach is slowly moving in the direction of allowing marijuana dispensaries. The City Council imposed a 45-day moratorium on marijuana dispensary permits on Feb. 17, but directed city staff to study how to regulate and permit such facilities in the future. The city has been struggling with the topic of marijuana dispensaries for several years.

The California Coastal Commission has rejected Laguna Beach's zoning ordinance amendments that would have prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The commission voted 6 to 5 at the Jan. 12 to 14 meeting in Long Beach to deny the proposed amendment as submitted, disregarding a staff recommendation for approval. Some commissioners voiced concern that the amendment clashes with state law that allows the use of medical marijuana, but others were convinced that that was not within the commission's purview.

Question: Should medical marijuana dispensaries be allowed in Laguna? Answer: Yes The state of California does not provide any method for qualifying patients to receive medical cannabis. There is no place in the state to legally purchase medical cannabis. The state does not supply starter plants, nor will give advice on how to grow medical cannabis. Pressure should be put on the state to allow for collective and cooperative operations. A recent California Appellate Court decision in People v. Urziceanu marked the rare occasion when California courts eked out further protection for patient collectives/ cooperatives as well as dispensing collectives/cooperatives.

On Oct. 16, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with help from the Laguna Beach Police raided a medical marijuana dispensary downstairs on the southwest corner of Diamond Street and South Coast Highway. They seized an unknown amount of marijuana and took two people into custody. Hundreds of residents have doctors? permission to purchase marijuana from dispensaries because they are HIV positive or have a host of other ailments that pot can help. Of course, marijuana should not be listed by the ?

Following the lead of the City Council, the Planning Commission on Wednesday approved two measures that would not allow city officials to approve conditional-use permits or other zoning entitlements for businesses that do not conform with city, state or federal laws. Several members of the public, including a prominent local physician, asked the commission not to approve the measures, which would make it impossible for medical marijuana dispensaries to operate openly in the city.

Don Austin gave the City Council 1,042 reasons for his opposition to legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries in town — the students at Laguna Beach High School where he is the principal. Austin was among the school district officials and parents who persuaded the council Tuesday to vote unanimously in favor of two ordinance amendments that combine to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries or collectives within the city’s borders. The Planning Commission recommended the prohibition.

The City Council's decision to postpone final approval of an ordinance seeking to outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries in the city is laudable. The ordinance would prohibit business licenses for entities that violate federal, state or city laws, with no mention made of the target of the measure — medical marijuana. When the council realized that medical marijuana dispensaries could be outlawed by the measure, they tabled final approval, giving "compassion" for cancer and AIDS patients as the reason.

Laguna Niguel is set to take the only remaining medical marijuana dispensary in the city to court early next year. City Manager Tim Casey said the city has filed a lawsuit against Suite A basically to request that the courts close the business because the city believes it violates city zoning code. Suite A, on the corner of Crown Valley Parkway and Niguel Road, has been fighting the city's demand to shut down since early May, when the City Council unanimously voted to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Laguna Niguel.

The California Coastal Commission has rejected Laguna Beach's zoning ordinance amendments that would have prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The commission voted 6 to 5 at the Jan. 12 to 14 meeting in Long Beach to deny the proposed amendment as submitted, disregarding a staff recommendation for approval. Some commissioners voiced concern that the amendment clashes with state law that allows the use of medical marijuana, but others were convinced that that was not within the commission's purview.

Don Austin gave the City Council 1,042 reasons for his opposition to legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries in town — the students at Laguna Beach High School where he is the principal. Austin was among the school district officials and parents who persuaded the council Tuesday to vote unanimously in favor of two ordinance amendments that combine to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries or collectives within the city’s borders. The Planning Commission recommended the prohibition.

The following is from the June 23 meeting of the Board of Education. Board moves to halt pot dispensaries The board voted unanimously to recommend that the city not approve any marijuana dispensaries. The resolution was presented at the Planning Commission meeting the next day. Several marijuana dispensaries have been closed down in Laguna Beach over the past several years. The City Council has imposed a moratorium on issuing permits for new dispensaries while permit issues are ironed out, but school board members oppose any future permits for marijuana facilities.

Advocates and opponents of medical marijuana voiced their opinions Wednesday at a Planning Commission hearing on a proposed ordinance that would legalize dispensaries in Laguna Beach. The commission hearing was a review of a draft ordinance ordered by the City Council, comporting with a state law passed in 1996 that exempts “qualified users” and lawful suppliers from criminal prosecution. The ordinance, if adopted, would put Laguna Beach in the minority of cities in surrounding areas.

Proponents of medical marijuana got a shot in the arm Tuesday. Laguna Beach planning officials say they are moving quickly to establish regulations so dispensaries can operate legally in Laguna Beach — possibly by summer. During a hearing on a proposed extension of a moratorium on permitting the facilities, Community Development Director John Montgomery told the City Council his staff is “close to drafting an ordinance” that would regulate the facilities.

Laguna Beach should move expeditiously to come up with a practical way to provide marijuana to people who need it for medical reasons, by prescription. The City Council has basically told that to city staff, voting Feb. 17 to move forward with a plan to allow medical pot dispensaries in town. That order was made at the same time the council put a moratorium on issuing permits for the facilities ? an interesting move considering no official permits had ever been issued that we are aware of. The moratorium was triggered by an application for approval of a pot dispensary.

FOR THE RECORD: Scott Alan should have been identified as a former chairman of the HIV Advisory Committee in a story, ?Halt put on pot dispensaries? in the Feb. 27 issue.. Laguna Beach is slowly moving in the direction of allowing marijuana dispensaries. The City Council imposed a 45-day moratorium on marijuana dispensary permits on Feb. 17, but directed city staff to study how to regulate and permit such facilities in the future. The city has been struggling with the topic of marijuana dispensaries for several years.

On Oct. 16, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with help from the Laguna Beach Police raided a medical marijuana dispensary downstairs on the southwest corner of Diamond Street and South Coast Highway. They seized an unknown amount of marijuana and took two people into custody. Hundreds of residents have doctors? permission to purchase marijuana from dispensaries because they are HIV positive or have a host of other ailments that pot can help. Of course, marijuana should not be listed by the ?