Protesters picket in front of 4th Street Long Beach Natural Health. Photos by Greggory Moore.
UPDATED 11:22AM | Though the protest and counter-protest were relatively peaceful, the Post received reports of police activity later in the event.
“Apparently there was a verbal argument between both sides and our officers stood by to keep the peace,” said Sgt. Aaron Eaton with the Long Beach Police Department.
ORIGINAL 10:15AM | It’s rare that traffic is an issue in the East Village Arts District, but it was relatively slow going late Friday afternoon on 4th Street near Olive Ave., as motorists paused to take in the spectacle on both sides of the street that was the protest of a medical-marijuana dispensary and a counter-protest against the former’s co-organizers.
About 60 protesters—most of whom identified themselves as residents, nearly a third of whom were young children—began picketing 4th Street Long Beach Natural Health at 4:30PM. Simultaneously, a smaller contingent of counter-protesters (topping out at about 30 in number) picketed the ACE Hardware across the street from the dispensary in response to the protest’s being co-organized by Trent Barnes, a co-owner of the ACE franchise.[1]
Antonio Ambriz, a neighborhood resident and one of the protest’s co-organizers, echoed what Barnes told the Long Beach Post on Friday: that the protest was specifically about 4th Street Long Beach Natural Health—and in particular, its location—not about medical marijuana.
“We’re not against medical marijuana; we’re against this place [being] in front of our houses,” Ambriz said. “In the afternoon it’s like a market. People buy their medicine here and go and smoke in front of our windows. They do crack. They sell the marijuana to teenagers. This is not a way of living. We’re not against medical marijuana or marijuana. They can smoke how[ever] much they want—but not in front of our houses, not in front of our children, not near our schools.”
Several protesters noted that 4th Street Long Beach Natural Health—which opened about a month ago despite the City’s complete ban on medical marijuana dispensaries which went into effect on August 13—is within 1,000 feet of two or three schools.
“Every single afternoon, they line up the cars there […] like a drive-thru, they buy the medicine, and they go through the alleys and smoke there,” Ambriz said. “And on some occasions they smoke not only marijuana, but crack also. […] Just yesterday I said to some guys smoking marijuana out here, ‘Please, just go home and smoke your medicine or whatever.’ And this is every single night. And we’re just tired of this.”
Ambriz said that regardless of the specifics of how 4th Street Long Beach Natural Health is run, no dispensary would be a good fit for the location. Several other protestors echoed Ambriz’s sentiments, many with signs reading, “We Are Not Against Medical Marijuana,” “Not Near Our Homes, Not Near Our Children,” and “I Voted Yes on 19.”[2]
“I’m okay with [medical marijuana],” said Luis Torrez, another resident, “but not that close to the schools. It’s the location.”
But across the street, several counter-protestors pointed to the City’s complete ban on medpot dispensaries as a reason to keep open whichever ones remain open at this point.
“I understand that the owner [of the ACE franchise] says he’s pro-medical marijuana, but he’s [lobbying to] cut off access in a town that’s already had so many dispensaries close,” said Cheri Sicard, a neighborhood resident. “I hear from patients all the time that they’re having to drive great distances [to obtain their medicine], and it’s really putting a hardship on them. So [the ban] really has repercussions.”
Another protestor, Mary, didn’t see any reason why a dispensary should not be allowed to be relatively near schools.
“Why not? Liquor stores and tobacco stores are [within the same radius],” she said. “We’re for the safety of the children and stuff, but parents are responsible for whether their children are sneaking into the place. And [the dispensary] is not going to allow that—just like a [liquor store] won’t sell cigarettes or alcohol to a child. That shouldn’t have [a bearing] on the other people that are suffering. People that are suffering should have a way to be able to get their medicine and not have to be transporting way, way long ways to get it. It’s unfair.”
“I’ve been over on that side [of the street],” said Sicard. “No one has yet to tell me one thing the owners [of the dispensary] have done. They’ve told me what people have done once they leave the [dispensary], they tell me things about the previous owner, but no one’s given me one example yet of why [the dispensary should be closed]. Our city government has just cut so much access to patients. So many dispensaries have closed, and there’s so many patients in need.”
Some protestors, however, told the Post that they believe 4th Street Long Beach Natural Health dispenses marijuana to teenagers. No management members for the dispensary were available to comment.