Posted On: February 7, 2008

Fullerton Rejects Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban

The Fullerton City Council rejected a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries making it one a few Orange County, California cities to do so. This ban means the city of Fullerton is currently looking into ways to manage medical marijuana dispensaries in a safe and lawful manner.

While most city council members do not agree with the idea of placing medical marijuana dispensaries around town, they do acknowledge the voters support of such dispensaries when they adopted Proposition 215 in 1997. At issue with most Orange County cities who have addressed this issue is the current state of Federal Law which prohibits the use of any medical marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the U.S. As of now, Fullerton is the only city in Orange County willing to consider housing medical marijuana machines in their city with Huntington Beach and Anaheim recently reversing earlier approvals.

The City of Los Angeles, currently has several of these medical marijuana dispensaries already in place and the likelihood is most other major cities in Southern California will follow suit. The number of medical marijuana prescriptions or licenses has increased significantly over the last ten years and with the public’s nonchalant attitude over the use of marijuana, these dispensaries will here to stay.

Posted On: February 4, 2008

Los Angeles to Install Medical Marijuana Machines 24 Hours a Day

Patients using marijuana to alleviate suffering from chronic pain and other ailments will soon be able to purchase their medical marijuana from vending machines 24 hours a day in Los Angeles County. Vincent Mehdizedeh, an inventor and owner of two of the three current vending machines says these machines will provide convenient access, lower prices, safety and anonymity.

The medical marijuana machine requires a fingerprint to identify patients along with a pre-paid card before a green envelope with pot falls down the slot of the machine. Currently, doses are only dispensed once a week per user with each purchase yielding 1/8th or 2/8th of an once with a cost of $40.00

Don’t get too excited, you still need a medical marijuana card to be able to purchase marijuana and the Federal Government is doing all they can to shut down these machines. The DEA along with other federal agencies have been actively shutting down marijuana dispensaries in Los Angels County, Orange County and any county within California that allows these machines in their community. They have been charging operators with felony charges for distribution any time they locate a dispensary.