Medical marijuana access advocates may have been handed a defeat with their recent battle with the L.A. City Council's blanket ban on dispensaries, but they have their eyes on winning the war.

L.A. officials are crowing about the ban, with Jane Usher from the City Attorney's Office telling NBCnews.com, "We do expect tremendous voluntary cooperation. Nobody likes to be the subject of a criminal prosecution. The harder cases, we'll work with LAPD. We'll be complaint driven. We'll only pursue those dispensaries that are disrupting their neighborhoods."

But after the vote that banned the dispensaries, the city council then voted for 182 of the  storefronts to remain open. The process could take months and Americans for Safe Access is also planning on a ballot initiative to overturn the ban.

Don Duncan, California director of Americans for Safe Access states, "The tens of thousands of patients harmed by this vote will not take it sitting down. We will campaign forcefully to overturn this poor decision by the council."

In the meantime, some dispensaries are referring their patients to stores in other, pot-friendly cities outside of the L.A. City Council's reach, such as West Hollywood.

So despite the efforts of some in Los Angeles, a blanket ban still faces an uphill fight — and very well may be thrown out by the voters, while patients are inconvenienced by having to drive further for their medicine.

Santa Monica is referred to as the People's Republic of Santa Monica, sometime jokingly and sometimes seriously, among Angelinos.

In this case it's because of a ban which would have designated the apartments of new tenants as non-smoking, and would have only designated the units as smoking if the tenant informed their landlord. Enforcement of the ban would have been left to neighbors, with fines starting at $100, then $200, then $300.

An existing law prohibiting smoking on private balconies, porches and decks within a 25-foot radius of doors, windows and vents was in effect before the current proposal.

While it wouldn't be the first city in southern California to attempt to ban smoking in residences (Calabasas, a little further north on the 101, has a similar ban), its progressive politics hurdled head on into its, well, progressive politics.

Concern that medical marijuana users would have to report their use to their landlords  prompted one member of the the Santa Monica City Council reconsider their vote, the L.A. Times reports.

While the measure initially passed 2-4 on its first reading, the ban ultimately failed with a vote of 4-2. The council instructed the city staff to rework the ban, but did not give a date when it could take up the issue again.

In an attempt to clarify medical marijuana laws in Los Angeles, its city council is shuttering all registered dispensaries but muddied the waters by also approving of a plan instructing the city's staff to allow 170 of the storefronts to remain open, the L.A. Times reports.

Confused? You aren't the only one.

The vote to close the pot shops was unanimous among the 14 city council members. Two or three person collectives which could grow and distribute marijuana amongst themselves are approved under the new measure, but pro-access advocates testified that it took years of training and at least $5,000 to cultivate medical grade cannabis.

The 726 dispensaries that registered with the city will be sent letters instructing them to close their doors. If they don't they'll face legal action. Unless they're one of the 170 that are allowed to remain open.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who called for the total dispensary ban, did not support the vote to leave 170 dispensaries intact. He promised the ban would be enforced — but he also acknowledged the city may not have the resources to shut down every dispensary in the city.

Washington's Initiative 502 just got a major boost — a contribution of $1.25 million, the Seattle Times reports.

Prior to the million dollar shot in the arm, supporters of the ballot measure to legalize the purchase and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana raised $1.7 million. I-502 campaign manager Alison Holcomb said $1 million of the new contributions will be used to buy TV ads in August.

The $1.25 million comes from the Drug Policy Alliance and, surprisingly, Progressive Insurance founder Peter Lewis. At least now we know why Flo is so amicable.

Though the measure was initially met with skepticism and support trailed in polls, is now at 55 percent for and 32 percent against, according to a Washington TV station. Supporters credit voters with becoming educated about the regulations that the measure will put in place, such as prohibitions against sales to anyone under 21, as well as becoming more comfortable with the proposal.

As anyone who's been through a DARE speech — and that's pretty much anyone who's gone to school in the United States — one of the first things they tell you about cannabis is that it's a "gateway drug."

By that they mean one puff from a joint, pipe or vaporizer will condemn you to a life where you are not only at the mercy of mary jane, but harder drugs like heroin, cocaine and toad licking. Think "Reefer Madness," and those of you who've never sat through one of those presentations will understand.

It's taken as gospel among anti-drug crusaders, despite the fact we've have presidents who've admitted to smoking pot (regardless whether or not they actually inhaled), as have a sizable number of active and productive adults in the last 50 years.

A University of Florida study calls that orthodoxy of drug control into question. In fact, it's a legal substance (though not for minors) that they've discovered is more likely to lead them down the path of harder drugs.

Alcohol.

From a University of Florida press release about the study, to be published in the August issue of the Journal of School Health:

"In addition, the drug use documented found that substance use typically begins with the most socially acceptable drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes, then proceeds to marijuana use and finally to other illegal, harder drugs. Moreover, the study showed that students who used alcohol exhibited a significantly greater likelihood — up to 16 times — of licit and illicit substance use."

The Tacoma City Council plans to zone areas where marijuana would legally be sold, and it's a bold first step to bring sanity and a mature perspective to medical and recreational marijuana use.

You'd think the media would give credit to legislators who are forward thinking and who have the fortitude to stand up for individual rights. But you haven't read The News Tribune.

A plan to sanction areas where medical pot dispensaries can operate legally is poised to be approved. Additional plans call for collective gardens, where those with a green card (which The News Tribune characterizes as "easy to obtain") can buy marijuana.

Their editorial acknowledges there is a need for police to easily patrol areas where there are dispensaries, stating "there’s much to be said for creating a legal framework that would restrict medical marijuana locations and allow Tacoma police to better monitor them."

But The News Tribune perpetuates the notion that all dispensaries must be illegal. However, they do not recognize in their opinion piece is the money the city of Tacoma will save by effectively legalizing marijuana and giving those who are looking for pot a defined place to look for it.

The article also notes how the collectives and dispensaries will be located in economically depressed areas. However, it also fails to take into account the taxes and revenues that will be generated by cannabis-related businesses and the establishments around them.

This is a rare instance where politicians should be applauded for their foresight — however, The News Tribune's adherence to a status quo that's being increasingly challenged? Not so much

A day after a California appeals court threw out a dispensary ban in unincorporated Los Angeles County, a panel — from the same court — affirmed limits on the number of dispensaries in the city.

The previous decision by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr overturned the bans on the basis of preemption. Mohr found that the state law medical marijuana allowed dispensaries to operate without criminal prosecution, despite officials charging owners and operators with misdemeanors.

However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Douglas Sortino, wrote the next day that there was no preemption, based on prior court decisions and laws passed after those cases.

Naturally, the Los Angeles City Attorney was relieved with the decision. Los Angeles Special Assistant City Attorney Jane Usher said: "We're tremendously gratified that the court of appeal understood the state's medical marijuana laws and how they apply to the city's ordinance. The court of appeal reversed the trial court on each and every ground."

But it might not be as clear as the city attorney hopes. Doug Galanter, a lawyer representing one of dispensaries involved in the case, said, "We think the justices got it wrong on the question of privacy rights and due process, because we do think that state law does confer certain rights that afford due process."

In other words, situation normal...you know the rest.

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2012/pot070612.htm

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202561993785&slreturn=1

An Israeli medical pot collective has developed a practically THC-free strain of the plant.

Medical marijuana is legal in Israel, and it's controlled by the country's Ministry of Health. Around 6,000 Israeli citizens are registered medical cannabis users. Tikkun Olam, which translates to Healing the World, grows pot and operates the country's only storefront dispensary.

Users of the Tikkun Olam's new strain of THC-free pot, known as CBD, told Public Radio International's "The World" that it does not have the same intoxicating effects of the drug. It allows patients who are taking pot for infections and nausea to smoke throughout the day without impairing their normal daily activities.

However, not all patients are able to use pot without THC. Pain patients and Parkinson's Disease sufferers, in particular, have noted that CBD does not alleviate their problems.

But even with the minimal amounts of THC in the plants, don't expect to see CBD at a collective or dispensary in the US anytime soon. Despite the fact that the federal government claims that cannabis is illegal because of THC, CDB will still be a banned import.

A court decision has again thrown a monkey wrench into the agenda of anti-access groups by deciding the dispensary ban in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles is a violation of the state law that legalizes medical cannabis.

Arguments against the establishment of dispensaries, such as storefronts and pot sales being in violation of the state medical marijuana laws, were swept away by a California Appeals Court, the Long Beach Post reports. The bans, the court wrote, relied on an "unduly" narrow interpretation of the law.

The ruling concurs with another appeals court in February that decided local governments could not ban dispensaries altogether. Like the recent ruling, it exempts patients and caregivers from criminal prosecution for taking part in legal medical activities and from nuisance abatement hearings — or negative secondary effects, such as supposed increases in crime around the dispensary.

"Thus, the Legislature has determined the activities it authorized at collective or cooperative cultivation sites, including a dispensary function, do not constitute a nuisance," the February ruling read.

These decisions will no doubt force the Los Angeles City Council to reevaluate a proposal to close all the city's dispensaries.