Neighborhood Council Seeks Federal Help to Fight Marijuana Dispensaries
The city has failed to control the dispensaries, which are a public safety menace, ERNC says.
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The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council is set to invite the office of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to help regulate medical marijuana dispensaries that the council believes are a public safety hazard in the neighborhood.
In its monthly meeting at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock Wednesday night, the board of the ERNC voted to seek the federal government's assistance in controlling medical marijuana facilities after first informing local authorities, including the LAPD and the Los Angeles City Council District 14 headed by Councilmember José Huizar.
Eight members of the ERNC board voted for the action, and two members—Communications and Government Relations Officer Jared Hardy and ERNC Immediate Past President Stephan Early, who teaches English at Eagle Rock High School—voted against it. There were no abstentions.
The vote authorizes the ERNC Public Safety Committee to contact Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley and U.S Attorney General Holder to investigate medical marijuana dispensaries in Eagle Rock. Additionally, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and LAPD Northeast Division Capt. Bill Murphy will be apprised of the ERNC's action.
The move is a clear escalation of the ERNC's longstanding opposition to unregulated medical marijuana dispensaries in the neighborhood. There are 10 marijuana facilities in Eagle Rock, six of which the ERNC says are not in compliance with a medical marijuana ordinance created by the Los Angeles City Council in January 2010.
"We've been trying to get enforcement for two-and-a half-years to no effect," said ERNC President Michael Larsen, adding that enforcement has been further complicated by a Dec. 11 ruling by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr, which questioned the constitutionality of the City Council's medical marijuana ordinance.
Shutting down medical marijuana facilities operating illegally in Eagle Rock is one of Huizar's top administrative priorities—and he has said publicly on numerous occasions that a disproportionately large number of medical marijuana facilities are based in Eagle Rock.
During the Jan. 4 meeting, ERNC Business Director and Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce President Michael Nogueria referred to the American Eagle Collective, one of a string of marijuana facilities located on Colorado Boulevard, as an example of what he said was a public nuisance in the neighborhood.
"If you want to see a circus, go to this place," Nogueria said. "The type of people who come there—they're hardcore, and the only thing that the [facility's] security guards are there for is to stop the fights" among them. American Eagle Collective customers also tend to hog much of the parking on streets around the facility, Nogueria said.
ERNC Sub-District 4 Director Peter Hilton said that he recently watched a number of customers coming out of the Medical Caregivers Association, a medical marijuana dispensary located on Eagle Rock Boulevard, and smoking pot in their cars parked outside.
"For 40 minutes, people kept going in and out [of the facility] and lighting up in their cars," Hilton said, adding: "This is something we need to get some guidance on from the federal government—to see if we can get some teeth into the [City Council's medical marijuana] ordinance."
The owner of the Medical Caregivers Association was unavailable for comment but a volunteer who deals with patients at the facility and also provides security told Eagle Rock Patch that he had never seen any the dispensary's patients smoking marijuana in their cars outside.
"Patients, even new ones who come in, know that they shouldn't be operating machinery after smoking cannabis—this is written on their recommendation, the referral documentation they get to be able to smoke cannabis," he said, adding: "Most of my patients know to go home and smoke the stuff and if I see anyone smoking outside on the street I'd revoke their recommendation."
Eagle Rock Patch is trying to reach the American Eagle Collective for a comment on the ERNC's allegations.
In another significant step, the ERNC board voted unanimously to authorize "all communications" with authorities in the City Council as well as the office of California 44th District Assemblymember Anthony Portantino to help regulate what the ERNC said was another civic menace in Eagle Rock: a proliferation of "erotic" massage parlors, many of which appear to indulge in prostitution.
"I did an informal search on Google and found 26 'erotic' massage parlors in the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council area," council president Larsen said. "A lot of people don't know it, but they [the parlors] are coming up left and right."
Larsen added that the apparent explosion in the number of massage parlors is "exactly the same problem as medical marijuana" and their presence reflects the "failure of the city."
One of the massage parlors in Eagle Rock "got hit twice for prostitution and was closed," Nogueria said, elaborating that the problem seems peculiar to Eagle Rock: "South Pasadena doesn't have it, Glendale doesn't have it, but Eagle Rock doesn't say anything and we're right in the hub between these two cities."
A key reason why the city's enforcement of laws over massage parlors is virtually nonexistent is that "the state has taken over jurisdiction of massage therapy and has created a council that has no enforcement powers," Larsen said, referring to the California Massage Therapy Council. "Once massage parlors get certification, they are immune from local enforcement."
Larsen added that several local administrations within the L.A. region, such as that in Culver City, have ordinances that regulate massage parlors. But the City of Los Angeles "has fallen down on the job with this one," Larsen said.
In This article
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Eagle Rock High School
1750 Yosemite Dr, Los Angeles, CA -
City of Los Angeles José Huizar Councilmember
2035 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Hulga
12:52 am on Thursday, January 6, 2011
You could have least given out the locations of these fine establishments so that we can, um, avoid them. Weed and handies are the devil's work! Seriously, I have no idea any of this stuff is here. Eagle Rock is not South Pas and it's definitely not Glendale (thanks God!). It's got a little edge coupled with a live and let live attitude. A lot of people who live here like it that way.
Hulga
7:56 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
What's wrong with preferring Eagle Rock to Glendale? You seem to have more opinions than you do sense.
BackwardsThinker
3:12 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
Hulga, there is more sense in my opinion than there is prejudice in your preference.
Ajay Singh
4:34 am on Thursday, January 6, 2011
A full list of the medical marijuana dispensaries in Eagle Rock as well as some legal background about the medical marijuana issue can be found on the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council's website. Here's the link:
http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=56
You might also want to check the agenda of the ERNC's monthly board meetings and attend at least one of them the next time the medical marijuana issue is taken up. Or you can always read about it on Eagle Rock Patch!
Michael Larsen
1:39 pm on Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mr. Cohen,
Thank you for your input and opinion about MMDs in Eagle Rock. I would encourage you to come and participate in the public meetings held by the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council regarding these issues. Also, for anyone who would like to contact me regarding neighborhood issues, they can use this email: m.larsen@mac.com. The phone number you listed is my cell and a perfect way to get a hold of me.
Thanks.
Michael Larsen
8:45 pm on Thursday, January 6, 2011
Once again, I encourage EVERYONE to get involved in what the ERNC is doing. ALL meetings are open to the public and participation is always encouraged and respected. My number for anything neighborhood related is (323) 376-5037.
Ajay Singh
3:11 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Don't mean to be polemical, but isn't your last sentence an acknowledgment that MMDs cater to plain pot smokers, as opposed to those who need it for medical purposes?
Andy
3:13 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Control, Tax & Regulate Cannabis & Prostitution! Then we can get a "grip" on the out of control players. Of course, these activities which have & will always exist, should be available for consenting adults 21 years & over. Prohibition & the Black Market are the evil by products of poor governance. You want to take a bite out of sex-trafficking? Try tolerance for legal brothels.
You want the high school kids to stop using cannabis? Control, tax & regulated it.
joyce hong
3:42 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Wow you have got to be kidding me. When did the ERNC become the fun police? I wonder if Eric Holder has the time to investigate the "patients" smoking in their cars. What a complete waste of time this is. Sounds like Larson didn't get the memo from Chief Beck regarding dispensaries and crime. I find it iron how Mr. Larson actions are actually making Eagle Rock less safe by diverting time and resources away from actual safety issues.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14206441
LAPD chief: Pot clinics not plagued by crime
joyce hong
4:01 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
edit : iron=ironic
Bud Strong
4:32 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
As a member of the American Eagle Collective, I find Michael Nogueria's depiction of me as "hard-core" to be a slanderous affront. I am close to 60 years old, infirm because of a debilitating condition, and appreciate the helpfulness shown me by the young folks at this dispensary. Michael Larsen also appears to be a grandstanding moralist with a very personal agenda.
Michael Larsen
5:10 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
I appreciate all of the comments. It would have been great to have all of you folks at our public meeting where this issue was discussed.
For the record, while I support the approach and will work to implement it, I neither introduced the motion for the ERNC action nor voted for it as the chair does not bring motions or vote. My only "personal agenda" is the safety and welfare of Eagle Rock.
To that I will point out to Ms. Hong that the story you site quoting Chief Beck is over a year old. Since his comments, there have been 6 murders, at least 2 attempted murders, countless burglaries and fires directly connected with the dispensaries in Los Angeles. You can read much of the source material on the ERNC web site at http://eaglerockcouncil.org.
As to the assertion that closing dispensaries increases crime, it just isn't supported. After the new ordinance went into effect in June, 8 of Eagle Rock's 18 dispensaries closed, but we have not seen a spike in narcotics busts or narcotic related crime in our neighborhood. The only spike we have seen is in sales at illegal dispensaries that remained open in violation of the City's orders to close.
The ERNC supports the concept behind Prop 215 which allows seriously ill people dignified and safe access to marijuana to treat symptoms of their illnesses. Anyone honest can see and will admit that that is not what is going on, for the most part, in the dispensaries of Eagle Rock.
BackwardsThinker
3:37 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
Larsen and his constituents are fully aware that they cant do anything to what they consider are rogue dispensaries. That is why they are seeking Federal help; Larsen realizes that their hands are tied until the Feds step in (which they wont due to the pettiness of the matter) or until the LA City Council approves the new ordinance. After reading more posts, we see how Larsen's fight has nothing to do with helping patients and everything to do with politically helping Nogueria and slandering real patients' collectives. If you follow the violence history involving dispensaries you'll note that it happens when the rules change. See, many dispensaries(not just rogue dispensaries) do a lot of their business on consignment. Business in the marijuana industry retracts when doctors give out bogus recs or when dispensaries are told they cant move when the ordinance says they need to move. Vendors who have put their product on consignment at dispensaries get scared because they are creditors and they know their debts may not get paid if the dispensary has a strong chance in getting closed down. So, the vendors may have to answer to a higher authority who wants their money. Furthermore, the vendors create problems and crime in order to get their product or money back. Because transportation, growing, and vending is not correctly regulated, it forces crimes. Stop the growing, transportation, and vending prohibition and you will see far less crime.
BackwardsThinker
3:42 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
In Larsens previous comment (4th paragraph) he actually nullifies his own argument. He shows that there is no change in crime when rogue dispensaries are closed. This clarifies the fact that dispensaries, whether rogue or not, have nothing to do with higher crime rates.
joyce hong
6:40 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Mr. Larsen you are developing quite the reputation. I am sure the residents of Eagle Rock are proud to have you fighting day and night for their public safety. I would like to respectfully point out to you that your assertions are wrong. A judge recently ruled that many key portions of the ordinance are invalid and illegal which contradicts your statement that they are operating illegally.
What you are doing is discriminating against medical marijuana patients based on their appearance and age.
Michael Larsen
7:04 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Ms. Hong,
Thank you for your kind words.
As I'm sure you are aware, Judge Mohr's injunction only became effective today, so any activity by dispensaries not on the City's approved list up and until midnight this morning could very credibly be described as "illegal".
I can see you appreciate precise statements so let me restate mine:
"The only spike we have seen is in sales at dispensaries considered illegal from their initial opening until midnight Jan 7, 2011 and that while not under Judge Mohr's injuction, ignored multiple orders to close by the City of Los Angeles."
I might also point out that the federal government has a alternate perspective of legality when it comes to selling marijuana which is why we have decided to invite their viewpoint.
joyce hong
7:20 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
"Anyone honest can see and will admit that that is not what is going on, for the most part, in the dispensaries of Eagle Rock." Did you not read Budstrong comments above. Do you believe he is faking it too? I am really impressed by your abilities. I also think you are really quite attractive, are you single Mr. Larsen? I really like your passion, although I feel it is a slight bit misguided.
Michael Larsen
9:51 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Ms. Hong, your ability to flatter is only matched by your unfortunate taste in men.
Yes, I did read the comments from Mr. Strong Bud (if I may) and will simply say that it is not for me to believe or disbelieve his medical condition. That is between him and his doctor. What the ERNC is attempting to do is ensure that seriously ill patients who are recommended marijuana by reputable doctors have a place where they can safely go, be treated with dignity and respect, and won't have to worry about being caught up in law enforcement action due to the questionable practices of the dispensary operators. This, to me is the compassionate thing to do.
that
9:47 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
Nogueria.....forgot to mention he has a small cafe thats in the same plaza as AEC. i'm sorry if a compassionate collective is popular. try some of the other collectives in ER and see if they turn you away when you tell them your on limited income and can't afford your meds. see how they treat you. i am one of the less fortunate members....aec's the guy that heads aec's collective is about helping and healing people, there are some that dont deserve to hold a doc's recommendation.......but take that up with the doc. not the people who are trying to bring safe access to ill patients. will cvs or walgreens turn away your prescription for vicodon because you look to young or sag your pants or whatever?? people come from far to be apart of this collective for good reason, yes the parking sucks but Nogueria knew this when he rented his location for his cafe which is 3 doors down from AEC. I think Nogueria has a personal problem with aec or it's members.
ERNC you are wasting your time and our tax dollars!!!! steve cooley lost and he knows why. it's because of a MMJ based group had an anti campaign. congratz Kamala Harris. why not ask her for back up larsen??? afraid her views on MMJ doesn't support your agenda??
i hope AEC stays around....they are the best in ER. as for your "legal" shops in ER.....to bad over charging sick people isn't illegal....just immoral...but i guess thats ok in ERNC eyes.
Michael Larsen
10:09 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
@That,
In the eyes of the ERNC, as with those of the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles, "charging" anyone for marijuana whether sick or not, over or under IS illegal.
You are right. You and others are being taken advantage of by those who have hijacked the Compassionate Use Act for their own illegal profit. And we would like to see it stop.
BackwardsThinker
3:56 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
Yes, Larsen is the puppet. Nogueria is the puppetmaster. Nogueria is a sore loser. Ive seen many businesses get upset because the business next to them is bringing in a higher volume of people, causing parking issues. But who better to litigate a better parking environment?? No, ERNC has not proposed new parking, maybe because they cant afford it based on throwing away money by trying to raid shops or discredit them with bogus accusations such as the marijuana is coming from Mexico or that it's sprayed with toxins.
that
7:07 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
@larsen
how do you operate a collective and grow as a collective with people who are so ill they can't. reasonable contributions to the collective is accepable, this is from jerry brown.
you and the city councel have no idea how this works if you think we are suppose to get it for free.
stop wasting our time and yours.
that
9:58 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
ohh the last picture with Huizar next to him is a fellow patient of AEC's he is alive because of AEC ask him yourself. had coffee with him sharing our struggle....it's great to meet people that you can relate to in your darkest hour.
Andy
10:50 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
People use money to buy goods & services & that's a good idea. Collectivism is a bad idea, just look at N Korea. Some people use cannabis, others procure erotic massages or both. The morale crusader will see his way crumble. Libertarians of the world unite!
Severin Martinez
10:56 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011
I wish this many people had showed up the ERNC meeting, my girlfriend and I were two of three people aside from Ajay in the audience who stayed the whole time. The ERNC never even got to the Colorado Revitalization discussion which I was looking forward to. Next time...
BackwardsThinker
3:58 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
Going to the meeting would not do anything. The ERNC is stuck, financially and logically.
BackwardsThinker
4:03 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
ERNC is not being proactive by holding a meeting and telling people to come to them. They need to go to the citizens and dispensaries and talk. The ERNC is the public's servant, not the public's master.
Michael Larsen
4:13 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
Mr. Camp?
Savateuse
4:32 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
I'm a little afraid to jump into this heated comments section, but I would like to respond to the negative view expressed in the article about the California Massage Therapy Council:
I'm a newly minted massage therapist myself, and our field is moving to align itself with the healthcare profession. Because REAL massage therapists provide a health service, NOT a sex service. A state board (CAMTC) establishing professional criteria and standards for certification of therapists is an important step in cleaning up the poor image of massage.
That said, as part of our certification we undergo fingerprinting and a background check by the Department of Justice and/or FBI. The goal of CAMTC is to weed out criminals and prostitutes who may be hiding behind the guise of "massage".
I know that CAMTC certifies individual massage practitioners as well as schools that teach massage. I'm not aware that they certify "massage parlors" or places of business. My friends who've opened their own practices had to obtain a business license from the city. So maybe it is the city's fault, not CAMTC's, that improper "businesses" are opening within its limits?
Michael Larsen
5:06 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
Savateuse,
You are absolutely right about CAMTC and their goals. In my opinion, one of the main causes of this explosion of massage parlors in ER is the City's failure to incorporate CAMTC certification in it's conditions for a massage business license. Another reason is an embarrassingly underfunded LAPD. Either way, I agree with you: it's the City's fault.
I encourage you and other certified massage therapist to join the ERNC and other community groups in combating this menace for Eagle Rock and for your profession. Contact us at http://bit.ly/ggnVqk if you'd like to get more involved.
that
7:22 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
this just in judge mohr refuses to lift injunction on MMD!!!
why even bother with this anymore ERNC??? obviously the judge thinks some of these collectives are not as illegal as you or the city council and attorney think. go after the rogue shops......there are some that are trying their hardest to fight and be legitamate when the city just tossed em out without due process. i bet if you were successful to bring a hearing to these shops....which is great because they didn't even get that when the council tossed them out. due process please. u would be surprised if you brought these collectives into a hearing with a judge. i dare you.
judge mohr looked at the facts. the city attorny had a very very long time to bring their case to judge mohr and well they didn't bring anything but blah blah pre ico 2007 bs. same result will happen if you bring them to court. these are not rogue shops that dont pay taxes or do not have some type of "boe" permit. go after the ones that dont even have a board of equalization permit.
noguera.....ask aec for some change for your parking meter.
that
7:25 pm on Saturday, January 8, 2011
go after rogue shops!!!! typo the ..... where suppose to be !!!!
peter hilton
3:05 pm on Sunday, January 9, 2011
Peter Hilton
What I have just read in the conversations back and forth regarding the Marijuana Collectives is basically what is wrong with the whole issue. Mr. Ajay Singh is right, the collectives are filling the void for illegal drug selling and that's what it is.
It may have started out with the conscious effort to assist those who need the drug to alleviate their medical conditions, but it has not ended up as that.
As a neighborhood council we should meet with the owners and representatives of the dispensaries, I myself next week will be contacting all in my Sub-District (4) to arrange a meeting and possibly conduct a tour of the locations if they are willing to do that.
My aim as an elected official is to seek a balance between the needs of the people who need the resources of the collectives, the community concerns and the abusers that are using them for their own personal benefit to break the law.
If the collectives are so "Nieve" that they do not believe or do not want to believe that they are being used by people who are abusing the system, then there is no voice they can have in an orderly society.
ignorance is no excuse, but we all know, collectives, community and council, that the process is being abused.
Collectives, "What are you going to do about that!".
Mark Haskell Smith
9:30 am on Monday, January 10, 2011
Whether or not someone has a legitimate medical reason for being a member of a Cannabis collective isn't really something for the ERNC to decide. A medical professional has given them a doctor's recommendation. Just because you don't agree with it or don't find the person "sick" enough to qualify is irrelevant. It's really none of your business. Taking this unprecedented, and frankly unwarranted and unasked for, step of involving the federal government is an overreach that shows how out of touch you are with people living in this neighborhood. It's also arrogant.
Bill owens
12:51 pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011
We all know dispensaries are a fig leaf for recreational use. And there is nothing wrong with legitimizing it for the purpose of channeling the funds throughout our economy rather than letting it enrich the cartels. How many dispensaries, dispensary employees, web designers, accountants, legal professionals, real estate professionals, furniture salesmen and even the city are getting a piece of the pie? Sounds like a win-win to me. Whenever there is even a token public position available, it always invites grandstanding moralizers to usurp the collective will for their own purposes. We have record breaking declines in crime and I have no doubt some if it is due to a decline in the black market.