Marijuana Dispensary Owner Says Porn Shop Brings Down Studio City Neighborhood (Really)
Marijuana dispensaries have been painted, justifiably or not, as crime magnets.
Alison Curtis
The Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. City Attorney's Office have made no secret of their disdain for pot shops that have been the targets of violent armed robberies and drug rings. The LAPD recently boasted it shut down all the cannabis retailers in the Chatsworth area.
But one dispensary owner says not only that his shop is not the problem, but that another kind of business is. The dirty business:
Sam Humeid, owner of Perennial Holistic Wellness Center, Inc. (a pot shop with valet parking on Ventura Boulevard), sent a letter to the editor of Studio City Patch complaining that an adult video store wants to open in the same strip mall.
He alleges that the same store, Red Hot Video, has experienced crime in its current location nearby (apparently at Colfax Avenue and Ventura).
Humeid says that a homeless man with a history of mental illness was caught throwing a rock through the porn shop's window on Friday. In fact, he said, the suspect was caught by the dispensary's own valet.
He also somehow attributes a nearby sex assault last year to the adult retail biz. Humeid says adult stores attract deviants:
I found that crime, especially sexually related crimes increase dramatically around such stores ... An adult bookstore is not the right thing for this community. Maybe a community poll on your site about another porn shop could be interesting news.
Agreed: L.A. needs to embrace wholesome businesses that attract clean-living (green-living?) citizens.
Unfortunately for Humeid, he might have spoken too soon. The L.A. City Council is aiming to put all the city's pot shops out of business. Smut stores? Not so much.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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