By Bruce Mirken, LA Daily News
October 13, 2009
LAST Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced a sweeping new plan to boost the profits of Mexican drug cartels, a plan almost certain to increase the slaughter these vicious gangs are perpetrating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Of course, Cooley didn't call it that. He claimed, on dubious legal grounds, that all medical marijuana dispensaries in the county are illegal and announced plans to crack down on them. While no one denies that L.A.'s attempts - or, more accurately, nonattempts - to regulate these operations have been a mess, Cooley's crackdown is guaranteed to make a bad situation worse.
While state law is not as precise as it might be in setting legal parameters for dispensing medical marijuana, guidelines issued last year by state Attorney General Jerry Brown make clear that dispensing collectives are legal and can include storefront operations. Read more »
