Author: Damian Mendieta, Ryan Strong
admitted to frequenting the medical marijuana dispensaries. Last month, four separate campus safety investigations, following the discovery of marijuana in dorm rooms, determined that students had obtained the marijuana from a medical marijuana dispensary.
Tuesday, Nov. 29, some students hid in a closet while Campus Safety entered a Haines Hall room, finding marijuana in medicinal marijuana containers. On Nov. 17, Campus Safety Officer Willis saw the substance in plain view after a student opened a drawer in order to supply the officer with his identification. The student said he had a medical marijuana card, according to the Campus Safety report.
Campus Safety Officer Bolden responded to Norris upon the request of Residential Education and Housing Services (ResEd) on Nov. 9. He ended up confiscating 35 items from the room, including several containers with marijuana in them. The marijuana weighed in at 31.9 grams (1.12 ounces). The student said that she had obtained the marijuana by using her friend’s medicinal marijuana card at a neighborhood dispensary, according to the Campus Safety report.
On Nov. 3, a student was arrested by the LAPD for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after Campus Safety officers found large amounts of marijuana and cash, as well as scales, empty zip-close bags, a marijuana pricing list and paraphernalia packaged for sales. The student admitted to selling marijuana in Pauley between two and five times a day. He further said he has a medical marijuana card and purchases marijuana twice a week for amounts between $400 to $700 from three to five local dispensaries to sell, according to the Campus Safety report.
The students involved in these incidents will likely face the conduct system despite the fact they received their marijuana from medical marijuana dispensaries.
“The college does not permit the use of marijuana or medical marijuana. We do not track the difference between the two for our records of policy violations,” Harris said.
The Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy states that students may contact the Dean of Students Office if they feel “they may be adversely affected by this policy.”
The college has taken steps to crack down on marijuana use this year, increasing the emphasis on sanctions for marijuana policy violators. Harris says that students caught with marijuana go through the college’s conduct system.
Medical marijuana cards can be prescribed by doctors including primary care physicians for serious illnesses such as AIDS, cancer and Alzheimers. The effectiveness of marijuana in conjunction with these as well as other conditions has been confirmed by medical researchers.
Larsen and other critics say that while prescribing medical marijuana in those instances may be fine, the current system allows patients to shop for doctors who make a living off of prescribing marijuana.
Larsen says that it is clear to him that the medical marijuana dispensary system currently in place in California results in easier access to marijuana for recreational use.
“It is somewhat of a joke, the whole process, for the most part,” Larsen said. “It is clear to everyone that it is simply a front for recreational marijuana sales and use.”
Proponents charge that citizens trying to place strict limitations on dispensaries have not been specific about what exactly the “nuisances” caused by the dispensaries are. Furthermore, they say that those citizens are opposing what California voters decided through the polls and are endangering the availability of marijuana for people who depend on it for medical conditions.
Many organizations, including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) want marijuana possession to be decriminalized, arguing that police should spent their time dealing with violent crimes.
Both sides have been locked in a bitter battle on these issues. In 2010 the city council adopted sweeping medical marijuana regulations, limiting the number of dispensaries in an area among other requirements, after years of debate spurred by the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council.
The city ordinance drew multiple lawsuits that stalled the legislation’s implementation. In “Pack vs. Long Beach” the court ruled that cities could not authorize or recognize marijuana dispensaries because the shops are illegal under federal law.
Another court in Riverside found that California Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana, does not prevent local governments from banning medical marijuana dispensaries. Lawsuits on these issues are still active as appeals get resolved.
Los Angeles City Council Member Jose Huizar, who supports medical marijuana but harbors some concerns about the number of dispensaries in neighborhoods such as Eagle Rock, recently introduced legislation this week to temporarily ban new dispensaries from being established until the legal situation runs its course. That idea has drawn strong criticism from the dispensaries.
Eagle Rock’s Neighborhood Council met late yesterday, in part to discuss the medical marijuana situation and the city’s policy on it. The neighborhood council will take its ideas to the city.
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