Hits & Misses

THE HAZY ROAD TO LONG BEACH'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA REGULATIONS

It took months of meetings for the Long Beach City Council to craft a
law regulating medical marijuana collectives. Once the law was
approved, collectives worked for months to meet the requirements,
then participated in a controversial lottery process.

Collectives still must go through city inspections and take other
steps before receiving permits to operate, but even that is in
question now. Today, three council members are seeking to alter the
ordinance to further restrict where collectives may operate.

The council meets at 6 tonight - an hour later than usual - in City
Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd.

Aug. 4, 2009 - Concerned about the number of collectives in Long
Beach, the council votes to have a committee consider how to regulate
the operations.

Nov. 10, 2009 - In a meeting attended by a crowd of medical marijuana
advocates, the council approves creating a medical marijuana law but
takes out some of the more restrictive measures. At Councilman Gary
DeLong's suggestion, the council votes not to prohibit collectives
near libraries and parks, as City Attorney Bob Shannon proposed. The
council leaves in some requirements, such as prohibiting collectives
in residential areas, near schools and within 1,000 feet of each other.

Jan. 21 - Draft ordinance goes to the council. Council deadlocks over
where to allow marijuana cultivation.

Feb. 4 - Police recommend requiring marijuana to be grown within city
limits but the council decided not to restrict medical marijuana
cultivation within city limits.

Feb. 9 - A final vote on the law is postponed by Mayor Bob Foster and
City Attorney Bob Shannon because of concerns about the crime
ramifications of importing marijuana from outside of the city.

Feb. 16 - Council again delays a final vote, after representatives
from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the L.A.
County Sheriff's Department tell the council that Long Beach's law
should require marijuana to be grown within the city limits.

March 9 - Council votes 5-4 to require that medical marijuana be
grown within the city limits.

Aug. 27 - Collective members protest in front of City Hall after
their applications were rejected.

Sept. 21 - City holds lottery to eliminate collectives that are too
close together; 32 out of 43 total collectives move forward in the
permit process. Marijuana advocates ridicule the lottery after the
city's lottery machine fails and winners' numbers must be drawn from
a trash bin.

Today - Citing constituent concerns, DeLong and council members
Gerrie Schipske and Patrick O'Donnell seek to add new restrictions,
including creating collective-free zones around parks, libraries and
child-care centers; limiting marijuana cultivation to industrial
areas; and restricting the number of collectives.