Original language adopted in January of last year would have created a “Priority List” for placing collectives in one of thirty five Community Plan Areas. However, the Priority List was based the time and date collectives registered pursuant to a 2007 moratorium on new facilities. That moratorium was deemed illegal under the injunction, leaving the city with no list ranking collectives in the competitive bid for limited space. City Council Members looked to Long Beach for a solution, and opted for a lottery to select one hundred collectives in priority order for locations.

Collectives that opened after September 14, 2007, cannot enter the lottery, which will almost certainly result in new litigation. But collectives that can prove operation before the grandfathering deadline are also unhappy. The lottery does not guarantee them a spot on the list. Until now, the regulations have always offered some degree of preference to collectives that complied with the flawed 2007 moratorium. The new lottery amendment adds to a sense of betrayal and alienation – especially because it comes on the heels of the city’s decision to sue many of the pre-deadline collectives wrongfully deemed ineligible to register under the previous version of the MCO.

All twelve City Council Members present on Friday voted for the amendments. City Council Member Ed Reyes acknowledged that “this is not fair to many of the operators who are doing the right thing,” but listened again to advice from the City Attorney’s office. Special Assistant City Attorney Jane Usher told Council Members the lottery is legal, a position that will be tested in numerous lawsuits already filed in Long Beach. She also warned Council Members that they had to act quickly to avoid another rapid expansion in the number of collectives in Los Angeles.

City Council Members are fatigued and frustrated. Now it will be up to the courts to decide if the “do something, even if it’s wrong” approach stands up to legal scrutiny. In the meantime, patients and caregivers will probably start the complicated and expense process of registering under the amended MCO and hoping for the best in the lottery. Let’s hope enough navigate the obstacle course to provide access to medicine to tens of thousands of legal patients in Los Angeles.

Let’s also hope the amendments, flawed as they may be, are enough to stop and Effort by City Council Members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry to ban collectives outright. The perception that medical cannabis is out of control following the Preliminary Injunction adds fuel to the growing backlash. Bad media coverage and neighborhood concerns could push some moderate Council Members away from their multi-year commitment to regulations. That is exactly what happened last year, when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors abruptly reversed course and banned patients associations I the unincorporated areas of the county. If these amendments take the wind out of the sails of the pro-ban minority, there may be a silver lining after all. (See “Backlash” posted earlier).

The catalyst for the latest expansion in collectives is a Preliminary Injunction from Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr blocking enforcement of portions of the city’s Medical Cannabis Ordinance. Some lawyers, advocates, and entrepreneurs see the injunction as a green light for new collectives. Their spirit of free enterprise notwithstanding, the perception that medical cannabis collectives are once again out of control in Los Angeles may have consequences reaching beyond hand-wringing by the neighborhood councils.

Anti-medical cannabis City Council Members have certainly taken notice. Council Members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry introduced a motion calling for an outright ban on medical cannabis collectives in the city on December 15. It is unlikely they have the votes to prevail yet, but sensational media coverage and public ambivalence could sway Council Members to abandon the slow, contentious work of regulating medical cannabis in favor of an easier option to ban collectives – a position City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has steadfastly supported. It has happened before. Critical media coverage and neighborhood complaints regarding collectives and the City Council’s apparent inability (or unwillingness) to regulate them helped steer the City Council away from sensible regulations in 2010 towards what is arguably the state’s toughest ordinance.

Medical cannabis advocates in Los Angeles and elsewhere ignore a backlash at patients’ peril. A simple analysis may conclude that more collectives mean more access. History teaches otherwise. The Cities of Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, West Hollywood, and others all adopted ordinances limiting the number of collectives following an artificial inflation in the number of facilities like the one we are seeing again in Los Angeles. These earlier proliferations did not lead to more collectives; they led to fewer. Those who have been involved in medical cannabis on the longer term remember the rise and fall of “Oaksterdam” all too well. “The-more-the-merrier” does not necessarily apply.

We must not doubt that the federal, state, and local backlash against medical cannabis is underway. Renewed DEA raids and more subtle interference from the Obama Administration raise doubts about the federal momentum towards reform. Consider increasing IRS audits of collectives, banks closing medical cannabis accounts en masse, the unanimous confirmation of anti-medical cannabis crusader Michele Leonhart to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the recent decision to deny a permit to grow medicine for medical research.

And here in California, Los Angeles, Orange, and Fresno Counties recently banned collectives outright – all on the same day! Supervisors in Riverside County abandoned plans to replace their existing ban with regulations. These bans come in concert with city bans, which continue to multiply in the void left by the incomplete decision in Qualified Patients Association v. City of Anaheim. We are also looking at a battle with more sophisticated opponents in Sacramento over legislation regarding patients’ rights, cultivation, distribution, and taxation. Medical cannabis foes will be working hard to fan the flames of sensational media and community concern – especially when it comes to the perception of unchecked proliferation.

There is a way to push back on the backlash. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is making field development a priority this year. The goal is to train an army of effective citizen advocates to take up the mantle of safe access and bring the debate back to the patients’ needs. The nationwide “Activist Boot Camp” in February is one of the early efforts in this regard. The Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA) is pushing back locally by supporting sensible amendments to the city’s imperfect Medical Cannabis Ordinance and stepping up efforts to accredit legal collectives that uphold its safety and operational protocols.

Perhaps the most important thing patients and advocates can do right now is to let policy makers know that their constituents support safe access and sensible regulations – not bans. Lawmakers need to hear this at the local, state, and federal level now more than ever. If we can put the patients’ voices back at the fore front of the debate, we will reverse the backlash and keep moving forward.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is now offering introductory training for Medical Cannabis Professionals, Activists, and Patients. This newly designed ASA training is an essential basic course for anyone serious about working professionally with patients in the medical cannabis field.

Get all the details and register online.

“James Stacy a victim of Operation Green Rx and Bonnie Dumanis’ fierce fight against medical marijuana patients in San Diego has his next and final hearing coming up this week.  His sentencing will be held on January 7, 2011 at 10:15am in Courtroom 15 at the San Diego Federal Courthouse. Please mark your calendars and come out to support James and help us pack the courtroom.”

“James Stacy has fought a federal trial for over a year now which has included three indictments, two weeks in Federal Custody, and nine trumped up charges. He is a legitimate medical marijuana patient and advocate for patients rights who has been unjustly prosecuted and who has not been able to use cannabis as a medicine the entire time he has been on trial.

Over the last year James Stacy has touched many in the community with his, compassion, friendship, smile, and friendly attitude. In this difficult time in James’ life he needs to know the community is behind him. Please take a moment to send James an email of support prior to his sentencing to movementinaction@gmail.com and come to court on Friday!”

SarahDMagazine.com is a new online magazine authored by medical cannabis patient and media personality Sarah Diesel. Sarah is an outspoken medical cannabis advocate who has worked in the field of medical cannabis since 2005. Many patients and advocates know her from her work with Oaksterdam University, but she has also worked with local collectives, the Yes on 19 Campaign, and local and national advocacy organizations – including Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Be sure to have a look at her diverse media portfolio and gallery on the site.

SarahDMagazine.com is a new online magazine authored by medical cannabis patient and media personality Sarah Diesel. Sarah is an outspoken medical cannabis advocate who has worked in the field of medical cannabis since 2005. Many patients and advocates know her from her work with Oaksterdam University, but she has also worked with local collectives, the Yes on 19 Campaign, and local and national advocacy organizations – including Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Be sure to have a look at her diverse media portfolio and gallery on the site.

SarahDMagazine.com is a new online magazine authored by medical cannabis patient and media personality Sarah Diesel. Sarah is an outspoken medical cannabis advocate who has worked in the field of medical cannabis since 2005. Many patients and advocates know her from her work with Oaksterdam University, but she has also worked with local collectives, the Yes on 19 Campaign, and local and national advocacy organizations – including Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Be sure to have a look at her diverse media portfolio and gallery on the site.

SarahDMagazine.com is a new online magazine authored by medical cannabis patient and media personality Sarah Diesel. Sarah is an outspoken medical cannabis advocate who has worked in the field of medical cannabis since 2005. Many patients and advocates know her from her work with Oaksterdam University, but she has also worked with local collectives, the Yes on 19 Campaign, and local and national advocacy organizations – including Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Be sure to have a look at her diverse media portfolio and gallery on the site.

SarahDMagazine.com is a new online magazine authored by medical cannabis patient and media personality Sarah Diesel. Sarah is an outspoken medical cannabis advocate who has worked in the field of medical cannabis since 2005. Many patients and advocates know her from her work with Oaksterdam University, but she has also worked with local collectives, the Yes on 19 Campaign, and local and national advocacy organizations – including Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Be sure to have a look at her diverse media portfolio and gallery on the site.