The issue of medical marijuana dispensaries in Long Beach is set to come to a head tomorrow evening, when the City Council will discuss and be presented with a draft ordinance from City Attorney Bob Shannon that will outline strategies and regulations that detail the City’s approach to dispensaries.
No one is sure exactly how many of the businesses are operating in Long Beach, and the City last week began shutting down some that were violating their business licenses by offering marijuana.
City Manager Pat West told the lbpost.com at the time that the closing of Green Nursery Collective on Broadway was the first action of many that are planned.
The Los Angeles based blog LAist.com has even picked up on the debate, largely because Los Angeles is going through its own growing pains while trying to establish a citywide ordinance. They also point out that Long Beach is likely home to between 50-60 dispensaries while Los Angeles boasts more than 1,000.
The issue has heated up since the lbpost.com published an op-ed piece that was submitted by City Prosecutor Tom Reeves in late September. In it, Reeves directly related dispensaries to “a drug dealer standing on a corner” and disputed the notion of the businesses as caregivers.
lbpost.com columnist Greggory Moore wrote a follow-up rebuttal to Reeves’ op-ed that cited examples of lawsuits and legislation in favor of the legality of marijuana dispensaries. The debate rages on in the Comments section of this column, written two weeks ago by lbpost.com columnist John Greet.
At October’s monthly Beer & Politics public forum, Reeves debated alongside Moore and issued a warning to dispensaries currently operating in the city. “Stop,” Reeves said. “Get off that train. Bad things are coming.”
We’ll know much more tomorrow when the City Council receives Shannon’s ordinance and comments on it.
Disclosure: The lbpost.com has sponsorship relationships with medical marijuana dispensaries. Click here to read our policy on covering the Long Beach City Council.