MORATORIUM SOUGHT ON NEW POT CLINICS

Bratton Cites Opening of 94 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in L.A. in
a Year and Calls for Rules to Regulate the Facilities.

Concerned by a 2,350% increase in the number of medical marijuana
dispensaries in Los Angeles in a one-year period, Police Chief
William J. Bratton is calling for a moratorium on new facilities
until strict rules can be adopted governing them.

In a report to the Police Commission, Bratton said he wants to ban
existing dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, parks
and places designated exclusively for the care of children. He also
advocates limiting their hours to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The establishments are allowed under a 1996 state ballot measure and
a more recent state law making marijuana available to patients by
prescription to relieve pain or nausea.

Bratton said the number of dispensaries increased from four in
November 2005 to 98 a year later.

"This has fostered an increase in ... crime problems and caused
quality-of-life issues for families and communities, as evidenced by
the 110 complaints received from neighbors, business owners and
concerned citizens concerning these dispensaries," Bratton's report states.

The Police Commission will consider his recommendations today.

Los Angeles Police Department officers have been called to clinics
because of problems including robberies, burglaries and drug use in
front of the clinics, Lt. Paul Vernon said. Without regulations, he
said, officers are hamstrung.

In the absence of specific zoning rules, 12 of the medical marijuana
dispensaries in Los Angeles have opened within 1,000 feet of schools,
Bratton said.

"One clinic blatantly resorted to placing fliers on the windshields
of vehicles parked in and around Grant High School in an obvious
effort to entice children," Bratton said.

The chief did not identify the clinic, but said its flier stated that
it is legal to own, grow and smoke medical marijuana and that
"qualification is simple and our experienced physicians are more than
happy to help you," adding that the visit is free if the applicant
does not qualify.

"This was not the intent of the voters when they passed Proposition
215," the chief said.

The clinics have proliferated elsewhere as well, although Los
Angeles, as the state's largest city, has the most, said Joseph
Elford of Americans for Safe Access, a group in support of the
clinics. But San Francisco, with about 30 clinics, has more per
capita, or about one per 25,400 residents, while Los Angeles has one
dispensary for every 39,200 people.

On Monday, advocates for medical marijuana disputed that the
dispensaries are magnets for crime, and expressed concerns that Los
Angeles officials may reduce patients' access to the drug.

"A blanket ruling saying you can't be within a number of feet within
a school or park is entirely unnecessary and overbroad," said Bruce
Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, another advocacy group.

He said a lengthy moratorium on new dispensaries would have an
adverse effect on medical patients who rely on marijuana in their
battles with disease.

The proliferation of dispensaries followed passage of Proposition
215, called the Compassionate Use Act, and Senate Bill 420, which
took effect in 2004; together, they legalized possession and
cultivation of marijuana for qualified medical patients.

Marijuana is used for medical purposes by thousands of people
suffering from painful and appetite-killing diseases, including
cancer, AIDS, anorexia and arthritis.

"However, the spirit and intent of this act has been exploited and
abused for both profit and recreational drug use by many of the
medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles," Bratton
said. "Absent stringent regulations and enforcement actions, these
dispensaries have flourished throughout the city."

The chief's recommendations were welcomed Monday by Councilman Dennis
Zine, who already has asked the Planning Department to draft a
moratorium ordinance, banning any new outlets for six months, with an
option to extend it for another six months while new rules are being
formulated. "There is no regulation as far as zoning and hours of
operation," Zine said. "What I want to do is bring a semblance of
order and not go against the public's will in favor of these clinics."

Steve Leon, owner of the medical marijuana outlet Highland Park
Patient Collective, disagreed with the allegation that the clinics
spur criminal activity.

"I think it's quite the opposite," he said. "I'm in an area that is
gang-infested, but there is no graffiti on my building. It is very
clean. And other businesses have moved in. We have created quite a
nice little artistic community."

Leon said his building is more than 1,000 feet from schools and
parks, and that the LAPD has been "very gracious."

The proposed moratorium found favor with at least some owners of
current dispensaries.

"The moratorium is kind of a good idea. It's getting out of control,
with a new one opening every week," said Billy Astorga, manager of
the Eagle Rock Herbal Collective, adding that his business already
has strict operating rules.