Now That L.A. Has a Grip on Marijuana Dispensaries, Will Their Alleged Ties to Shady Supplies Fade?

By Dennis Romero Tue., Jan. 25 2011 at 6:03 AM

Are cartels the buds of L.A. pot shops?

The city of L.A. on Friday tried to shore up it's pot-shop regulations. The new language would only allow 100 dispensaries to survive. That's a fraction of the more than 450 that operated at the peak of the city's marijuana dispensary business in spring, 2010.

The move will allay some who said the stores were more numerous than Starbucks and attracted crime, robberies, shootings and unsavory characters.

Some dispensary boosters say the regulations are too strict and will restrict California pot patients' ability to get their medicine.

While the city's new rules will also produce audits of pot shops (with the city's budget crisis, it'll be interesting to see if that actually comes to pass), it's not clear the fundamental business of retail weed-selling will change in L.A.

And what is that fundamental business? Some have said pot shops are supplied by Mexican drug cartel products and operate (against California law) as for-profit enterprises.

Our commenter of the day, Jimmy James, says that doesn't make sense, given the low quality of stereotypical Mexican weed and the high quality of the stuff sold at dispensaries:

"If you're so ignorant to believe that the high-quality hydroponic marijuana grown in and bought legally in California that was once only available in glossy, hi-quality High Times centerfolds has anything to do with the huge 50 pound Pot Busts that involve intra-border tunnels and dirty brown Mexican weed, you're even more ignorant than your snark shows."

It's a notion that's hard to believe: Mexican cartels don't operate grows in the National Forests right here in California? They don't run area grow houses? Not an ounce of Mexican weed ends up in your local pot shop? Really?

Tags:

cartels, dispensaries, Los Angeles, marijuana, pot shops

We Recommend

darkcycle

No. Not an ounce. Not even a gram. Dispensaries know their supplies, and they know ther suppliers. Each and every ounce tracks back, on paper, to it's grower. The methods used, the strain, the laboratory measured strength (in many cases), everything. If these shops use Marijuana from illegal grows and or growers, they stand to be convicted under conspiracy laws. Familiar with those at all? Ever heard of a cartel run medical growhouse? Seen one somewhere? WHERE? Don't allege where you have no proof. Now go away.

Rob

"Not an ounce of Mexican weed ends up in your local pot shop? Really?"

Not an ounce of evidence for your assertions ends up in your article? This is journalism? Really?

mmhmm

He's a Latino author.. they say things like Really? a lot and don't rely on empirical data. LOL

Joyce

I am sure Mr. Romero could do better then this.

By Brian Doherty

The L.A. Weekly, which played a key role in ginning up political pressure to "do something" about the utter non-crisis of over the counter medical marijuana in Los Angeles, asserts through assertion that there must be weed from Mexican drug cartels filling these stores, because, well...come on man!

When I asked Capt. Kevin McCarthy, the Los Angeles Police Department’s commanding officer for gangs and narcotics, about this cartel/dispensary link for my May 2010 Reason magazine cover feature on the saga of L.A.'s anti-pot store mania, he too believed it must be true. He also admitted that proving it would be “labor intensive to do, and we don’t have resources to do it.”

The Weekly has been nosing around the local pot scene with hostility for years now...surely they can do better in providing strong evidence for this accusation. (Unless, just maybe, there isn't a whole lot of truth to it.)

Last week, reporting on the latest iteration of L.A.'s ever-changing (nowadays, in response to court actions) regs on medical pot stores that will reduce them to 100, the Weekly shed crocodile tears over how that "seems like a small amount of dispensaries for a city that has become the pot shop capital of the world." Yup. Which is why all the Weekly's agitation for the City Council to do something about them, and painting them as facilitating criminal recreational use and Mexican drug cartels, was the very opposite of public service journalism.

http://reason.com/blog/2011/01...

peterherz

What Joyce said :)

Dennis M

Joyce, your point is well made and well written.

JimmytheFish

At the moment, dispensary operators who didnt grow up in Humboldt, dont have very many options as to where they get their product from. Whoever comes to the shop and is consistent and affordable gets the money. If you have a 100 patients coming in daily you would have to have a 20,000 sq ft warehouse to provide for them. Yet, if you are nonprofit and keeping your pricing low in comparison to what you got the product for, you are not making enough money to pay for a warehouse. Legitimate lenders wont lend. Dispensaries cant get a business checking account. Sometimes, dispensaries go to those who have large sums and that is where it gets dirty, because these types of lenders are unregulated and arent going to aim for litigation when you are having trouble, they will take. What does this mean for the future of MMJ?? It means MMJ dispensaries really need an open door for valid commercial lending. It means banks need to allow dispensaries to have bank accounts. It means a new system of vendor verification and supply protection needs to be implemented. If you push dispensaries into industrial zoning without police protection, that is when the cartels will come in, because they are so far removed- they become easy targets.

peterherz

Huh? Theoretically and practically speaking an individual who smokes daily (or 1oz a month) uses a hydroponic equivalent setup equal to about 2.5 - 4 square feet. That means for 100 patients provider you might need 1-2k sq ft.. which is about the avg size of these dispensaries and they don't even grow on site.

Weehughie1973

I run a collective and all my medicine is grown by my patients in SoCal. I can prove it... Can you prove that all that cannabis from Mexico is going to the collectives?? I didn't think so... All that Mexican cannabis goes to that other part of land between LA and NY called America!

Again, half assed reporting by someone with a non objective viewpoint.

peterherz

Latino author.. he's gotta act like its all because of Mexico.. its in his blood ;)