LA City Council to Extend Moratorium on Friday 3/6

I've posted on this before the election and also durning last years election, no one picked it up:

ex-Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a strong Prop 215 advocate, is running for City Council in District 5.

I live some 800 miles from LA but am from there orignally (left for the GRREAT NoWest in the 1970's) - But I keep an eye on things down there.  Anyway I posted on this, hinted about it, spoke to some of the 'activests' (MCA) people down there - as well as ASA and what happened?

He lost by 60 votes! He LA p215 pateints had their best advocate every and what happend? About 15% of the total pop came out to vote.

Give there are apx 400 shops in LA with apx. 2,000 members each or
400 x 2,000 = 800,000 patients OR 1/5 the population of LA - I'd say, quite frankly, the MMJ world dropped the ball on this one!

For those who haven't read my past posts here and on other MMJ sites on Paul Koretz he was part of West Hollywood group who put in the frist shop back in 1998 there. LACBC he, as i recall was on the city council who co-signed for the loan for the shop's building!

I just walk around stuned by stuff like this, a totally PRO P215 canidadte looses by 60 votes, some shops see that many people in a few hours. 

I'm just amazed and stuned! Paul Koretz lost by 60 votes, and only 15% of the voters turned out.  ... I got to stop here - before .. never mind it wouldn't make any diffrence anyway ....

Hello, all. Today's meeting was very long, but the City Council finally voted unanimously to extend the ICO for a final six-month period. A handful of speakers in Van Nuys and downtown waited for more than three hours to tell the Council to extend the ordinance and hurry to adopt new regulations before the moratorium expires in September. Speakers were critical of the fact that the City Attorney's draft ordinance, currently before the Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM), regards the existing storefronts maintained by lawful patients' associations as illegal. They also complained that the City Attorney's ordinance makes edibles and concentrated cannabis illegal. Representatives from a neighborhood group in the Melrose/Fairfax area complained that new facilities continued to open in their neighborhood despite the moratorium.

Councilmember Dennis Zine, who made the initial motion to study regulations in 2005, told the crowd that the City Attorney's ordinance did not work for the community. He said he hoped the final extension of the moratorium would give the City Attorney time to write an ordinance like the one already in effect in Los Angeles County and which incorporates the input of the community working group convened by the Planning Department in 2007. Zine also said the PLUM committee would hear hundreds of hardship applications for collectives that opened or relocated since the moratorium became effective in September 2007, to determine which were abusing the ordinance's "hardship" provision. "Justice will be done," Zine added.

LA-ASA members can be particularly proud that Councilmember Zine singled us out by name, thanking us for our hard work in pushing regulations forward. Good work, ASA members!

---

Regarding recent city elections, Paul Koretz will compete in a runoff election for the City Council seat in District 5 on May 19. Medical cannabis advocates in the district donated generously to his campaign and turned out in force to ensure his place in the runoff. Paul is running for the seat vacated by Jack Weiss, who is running in the same runoff election for City Attorney. Weiss is unlikely to be any more supportive of medical cannabis than current City Attorney Delgadillo.

Medical cannabis advocates and other organizations have been very active in the District 5 and City Attorney's race. ASA recognizes Pauls' years of commitment to medical cannabis patients, but we do not endorse and candidates or or participate in any electoral politics due to our tax status.

thanks for the updates !

GO Paul Koretz !!