3 ms·

I live in LA county. The reason the initiative failed in LA county is that we had a rash of fly-by-night MMJ dispensaries popping up everywhere. They looked s

by mturmon 12y ago

I live in LA county. The reason the initiative failed in LA county is that we had a rash of fly-by-night MMJ dispensaries popping up everywhere. They looked shady: armed guards standing outside, blacked-out storefront windows, typically not run/owned by anyone identifiable in the community. The look from the street was like a massage parlor or strip club. When cities, like LA proper, tried to regulate them by establishing a permit process, the MMJ dispensaries fought back in the courts (which is their right), and there ensued a legal cat-and-mouse game that stretched on for years. Because medical MJ is used in CA as a surrogate for legalization, it was hard to have an honest debate. Given the failure of local regulation, there was a backlash against going farther. It'll work itself out. And then we'll see how it looks, because as with everything else under the sun, legalization won't be a panacea.

crazypyro 12y ago
It might be helpful to note that a major reason for armed guards could be the inability to keep money in proper banks, due to federal laws. When one doesn't allow law abiding citizens to participate in a seemingly reasonable manner, I don't think it is any surprise that criminals and other societal outcasts tend to fill the void.... (As an aside, even with the change to federal regulations earlier this year, it is unclear that it even affects and allows California dispensaries to legally deposit money as they are not state regulated, which I believe was a stipulation, but someone more informed might be able to correct me.)
- mturmon 12y ago
  > ...inability to keep money in proper banks, due to federal laws... I agree. This contradiction (partly legal, partly not) discouraged typical law-abiding citizens from entering the MMJ business. I think there was also a tax angle, in that you had a hard time reporting the MMJ income as taxable, but if you didn't, you were evading taxes. The operator of a dispensary up the street from me was pinched by the feds boarding a private plane with a suitcase containing about $60K in cash. (It's not like it was a flight to Mexico, it was all within CA.) So, like it or not, because of the way we have regularized MJ, that's the type of incumbent "businesspeople" we have.
jcomis 12y ago
I'm not sure I buy that. Colorado also passed medical before full legalization and basically was in the same situation as CA in terms of medical dispensaries opening everywhere, run mostly by "out of towners".

by mturmon 12y ago

crazypyro 12y ago

It might be helpful to note that a major reason for armed guards could be the inability to keep money in proper banks, due to federal laws. When one doesn't allow law abiding citizens to participate in a seemingly reasonable manner, I don't think it is any surprise that criminals and other societal outcasts tend to fill the void.... (As an aside, even with the change to federal regulations earlier this year, it is unclear that it even affects and allows California dispensaries to legally deposit money as they are not state regulated, which I believe was a stipulation, but someone more informed might be able to correct me.)

mturmon 12y ago
> ...inability to keep money in proper banks, due to federal laws... I agree. This contradiction (partly legal, partly not) discouraged typical law-abiding citizens from entering the MMJ business. I think there was also a tax angle, in that you had a hard time reporting the MMJ income as taxable, but if you didn't, you were evading taxes. The operator of a dispensary up the street from me was pinched by the feds boarding a private plane with a suitcase containing about $60K in cash. (It's not like it was a flight to Mexico, it was all within CA.) So, like it or not, because of the way we have regularized MJ, that's the type of incumbent "businesspeople" we have.

jcomis 12y ago

I'm not sure I buy that. Colorado also passed medical before full legalization and basically was in the same situation as CA in terms of medical dispensaries opening everywhere, run mostly by "out of towners".