Day: June 8, 2009

Despite Recession, LA Moves to Shutter Dozens of Thriving Businesses – Pot Shops

Jon Ponder

At the same time that California has become the poster child for states with budget deficits, the Los Angeles City Council is moving to shut down one of the bright spots in the local economy — medical marijuana dispensaries.

The issue is NIMBY, not morality or a drug warrior mentality, per se.

In 2004, there were just four clinics filling pot prescriptions in the city. Today, there are over 700. The problem is that this boomlet has occured despite a moratorium imposed by the city in 2007 that would have limited the number of pot shops to 186.

Now the city council is signaling it will begin closing down the shops, despite the fact that they provide employment and generate tax revenue at a time when over 1 million Los Angeles County residents are unemployed and schools are cutting programs because of budget deficits:

The city clerk has notified 14 dispensaries that their requests for exemptions from the moratorium will be considered by the City Council on Tuesday.

Most, if not all, are likely to be denied on the grounds that they were not registered with the city by the moratorium’s deadline in 2007. A denial would allow the city’s code enforcement bureau and the city attorney to take legal steps to force them to shut down.

The issue is NIMBY, not morality or a drug warrior mentality, per se:

[…]

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

We’ll assume that most of the candidates who ran in 2008 will run again. It’s like sex — once you do it, it’s pretty hard to stop.

— Former Bush media strategist Mark McKinnon, handicapping the 2012 Republican presidential field for the Daily Beast.

Why Senators Should Not Be Allowed to Twitter

Buck Banks

Because it makes them sound even less eloquent than usual.

NBC political editor Chuck Todd offered this in his “first Read” column this morning.

[President] Obama devoted his Saturday radio address — even while he was overseas — to the topic of health care. “All across America, our families are making hard choices when it comes to health care,” he said. “Now, it’s time for Washington to make the right ones. It’s time to deliver.”

However, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee took offense to Obama’s radio address. “Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us ‘time to deliver’ on health care. We still on skedul/even workinWKEND,” he said via Twitter, later adding: “Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said ‘time to delivr on healthcare’ When you are a ‘hammer’ u think evrything is NAIL I’m no NAIL.”

Call me persnickety, but somehow that just don’t sound, er, senatorial ….