Long Beach bans medical marijuana collectives

LONG BEACH - The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday voted 8-1 to ban medical marijuana collectives but to exempt 18 city-approved operators for six months.
City Attorney Robert Shannon had sought an outright ban after an appeals court in October ruled in Pack v. Long Beach that the city's 2010 permit process for the collectives violated federal law prohibiting the sale and distribution of marijuana.

The ban motion, proposed by Councilman Robert Garcia, protects collectives who participated in the city's process "in good faith" while the California Supreme Court considers Long Beach's appeal of the Pack decision. The city is seeking clarification on its powers to regulate medical marijuana, the use of which is allowed

Long Beach City Attorney Robert E. Shannon speaks before he and other members of the Long Beach City Council voted 8-1 to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr/ Staff Photographer)

under state law. In the meantime, Garcia said his legislation allows police to use "the full extent of the law" to shut down about 35 unlicensed dispensaries.
Closing dispensaries operating illegally under state law can take about 12 months, said City Prosecutor Doug Haubert.
Councilwoman Rae Gabelich cast a no vote after making a substitute motion to extend an exemption for collectives that are in good standing to 12 months.
She withdrew her request after Garcia agreed to add language to his proposal calling for a review of the exemption in four months so the council can consider a six-month extension.
The council didn't vote on another substitute motion, advanced by Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal,

that would have enacted a temporary moratorium on issuing permits until the state Supreme Court rules on the Pack case, which could take 14 months. The motion also would have allowed licensed collectives to continue operating. Lowenthal`s proposal was detailed in a pre-meeting memorandum sent out by lobbyist Carl Kemp, an advocate for the Long Beach Collectives Association, a loosely knit group of 10 collectives that had organized to fight the ban.
Greg Lefian, president of the

From left to right, Long Beach resident and medical marijuana user Gerald Bishop, bottom left, who suffers from MS, and friend Darrell Martin, top left, talk with Greg Lefian, president of the Long Beach Collective Association, after the Long Beach City Council voted 8-1 to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr/ Staff Photographer)

group, said after the decision that the council's action was "sweet and sour" since pro-marijuana advocates were against a ban. But, he said, "I think it gives us a chance to at least prove ourselves in the community."
"Hopefully they go after the rogue collectives," Lefian added.
The ban is the latest in Long Beach's medical marijuana saga.
Long Beach took months to craft the pot regulations, such as restricting collectives from operating near schools, and the council needed several hours-long meetings before finalizing them.
Following the court ruling, the council twice delayed a vote on the ban before Tuesday's decision.

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