Topic: Oppose ban on medical cannabis in LA County - Tues., July 6
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich will make a motion on Tuesday to ban patients’ collectives and cooperatives in the unincorporated areas of the county. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on medical cannabis supporters in Los Angeles County to contact their representative on the Board of Supervisors (BOS) and attend Tuesday’s BOS meeting to oppose the effort.
What: LA County BOS Meeting
When: 1:00 PM * Tuesday, July 6
Where: Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 Temple St., Room 381 B, downtown Los Angeles, CA 90012
Arrive early to complete a Public Speakers card for item #2 on the BOS agenda. You will have up to three minutes to address the board. There are talking points below to help frame your comments. Remember to be brief and professional.
It is also important that medical cannabis supporters in the county call their representative on the BOS to ask him or her to reject the motion and support regulations. You can locate your representative at http://www.lavote.net/onlinedistrictmapapp/ or by calling 213-974-1311. Please make these calls ASAP. Leave a message in the general voicemail if you are calling during the Independence Day holiday (including Monday).
This is the contact information for Members of the BOS:
Gloria Monlina (213) 974-4111 molina@bos.lacounty.gov
Mark Ridley-Thomas (213) 974-2222 markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov
Zev Yaroslavsky (213) 974-3333 zev@bos.lacounty.gov
Don Knave (213) 974-4444 http://knabe.com/askdon/index.html
Michael Antonovich (213) 974-5555 http://antonovich.co.la.ca.us/Pages/ats.htm
Sample Script:
“Hello. I am a medical cannabis patient/supporter who lives in your District, and I am calling to ask the Supervisor not to ban medical cannabis collectives in LA County. Legal patients need safe access to medicine. The county should implement and enforce its existing regulations to protect patients and the community.”
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Talking Points for Tuesday –
Voters asked elected officials to implement a plan for safe access when they approved Proposition 215 in 1996. The county should not retreat from that mandate.
Crime statistics and research indicate that crime is actually reduced by the presence of a collective; and complaints from citizens and surrounding businesses are either negligible or are significantly reduced with the implementation of local regulations. (see http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/DispensaryReport )
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said that reports that medical cannabis collectives bring crime do not bear out. In fact, the overall crime rate in Los Angeles dropped during the proliferation of collectives and cooperatives in that city.
The county can protect legal patients and the community by implementing and enforcing the existing ordinance.
The recent tragedies in Los Angeles do not justify a ban on medical cannabis collectives. Crime like this occurs at grocery stores, gas stations, and convenience stores. It would be better to improve the ordinance to make violence less likely in the future.
Closing collectives pushes access to legal medicine into the shadows, where it can not be regulated for public safety. That means going backwards.