All Bark and No Bite? Post-Measure D

Charleco Scipio Jr.

CA State Law Sends Letters to 1,700 Dispensaries Telling Them To Close Their Doors

After 17 years of debate between the State and Medical Marijuana Businesses, Measure D was finally decided on by voters. The measure was voted upon on May 21, 2013 being 1 out of 3 total initiatives regarding medical marijuana businesses in the city of Los Angeles. Measure D is the ordinance

that cuts the total number of dispensaries to just the original 135 that were registered with the state back in 2007 and re registered again in 2011, making the other estimated 1,700 illegal.

Those remaining 1,700 were sent letters stating that their operation has now become illegal and that they need to shut down. But the truth of the matter is that 800+ dispensaries are still operating at this moment, in this case illegally. So what happened? Most collectives simply relocated and changed names. Others just changed names. It begs me to ask the question, is it really that simple? It seems so considering that the state isn't really cracking down, which is understandable seeing as there are hundreds of collectives across LA alone. State officials would be hard pressed to bring the hammer down on ALL of them at once. A hollow letter is hardly enough incentive to shut down business and forget about patients. The dispensaries might be getting the impression that the State is all bark and little to no bite when it comes to the mass medical marijuana business in the city. Many collectives are continuing to do as they please despite the new provisions and for some despite having a now illegal business operation.

There is no doubt that Measure D was the best choice out of the 3 initiatives voted on. It is a compromise for the time being, it is somewhat a step forward. Yet the whole issue of Medical marijuana in Los Angeles is a hot mess. The federal government still sees the plant as a Schedule 1 "illegal and dangerous", the state cant make up its mind in regards to businesses in the industry, and there are over a thousand dispensaries in LA with 10x as many patients in total. Measure D surely is not the end all.