Los Angeles

City Officials Are After LA Cannabis Sellers

Jennifer Halligan

Los Angeles has been cracking down on marijuana sellers throughout the city. Last Thursday, city prosecutors sued three groups of dispensaries and evicted 18 others from their stores. The city also sent letters to landlords encouraging them to evict dispensaries from their properties. Local, state, and federal law enforcement officials have been participating in under-cover investigations in order to catch sellers of marijuana. The owner of popular Venice-area shop Organica was charged Monday, February 23, with 24 felonies, including selling, buying, and transporting marijuana. The case has the possibility of testing the state’s lawful permission of the selling of marijuana.

• Dispensaries: Clinics where medicine is given out
• Evict: Throw out; expel

• Much of the conflict between marijuana sellers and city prosecutors stems from confusion over what California’s medical marijuana ordinance means, and whether or not it actually prohibits the over-the-counter selling of medical marijuana.
• City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich has made it a goal to stop the spread of cannabis shops since his election in May 2009.
• Argument in favor of legalizing marijuana: People who are in favor of legalizing marijuana say that it will help clear prison space, and that being able to tax it will help the economy. They also minimize the health risks and emphasize the positive use fo medicinal marijuana.Argument against legalizing marijuana: People who are opposed to legalizing marijuana emphasize the health risks and immorality of using a mind-altering substance.

For Further Reading:

-http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-medical-marijuana19-2010feb19,0,1809780.story

-http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-medical-marijuana23-2010feb23,0,6008675.story

-http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/06/local/la-me-marijuana-confusion6-2010jan06