Patch Blog: Three Things You Need to Know About Banning Medical Marijuana

Councilman wants to ban medical marijuana dispensaries across Los Angeles. Here are three things he won't tell you about his proposed ban, which he is expected to attempt to ram through the City Council as early as Tuesday:

1. He wants 250,000 medical marijuana users to grow their own marijuana. That means at least 100,000 mini pot farms conceivably spread out on just about every street in L.A. Without security, these farms will become targets for robbery.

2. Marijuana is very hard to cultivate in L.A.'s climate. Most medical marijuana users will therefore get frustrated by their attempts to grow marijuana locally and will turn to the black market. Drug crime will skyrocket everywhere.

3. Banning and then closing as many as 350 medical marijuana dispensaries before the California Supreme Court has ruled on the matter will put the City at high risk for heavy damages if the court rules against bans.

So why the rush, especially when every other city in the state is waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision? It seems as though City Attorney Trutanich wants the power a ban would give him—so that he can dismiss all the previous lawsuits by medical marijuana groups against the City.

Why should he care? He's running for D.A.!