Posts Tagged: ammiano

Thumbs down on medical marijuana bureau

A dispensary's sign on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. (Photo: Laurie Avocado)

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 08.14.2014

Amid a last-minute flurry of hostile amendments and despite backing from some in law enforcement and the cannabis industry, an attempt to set up the state’s first Bureau of Medical Marijuana has been defeated in the Assembly. The action by the Assembly Appropriations Committee followed intense negotiations between lawmakers, marijuana advocates and law enforcement.

It began as a seemingly benign attempt to protect California’s daily homeless population of 160,000 but it has turned into a significant political dispute, with local governments across the state saying the plan would hamstring their authority and make a bad situation far worse.

At issue is a difficult balancing act between empathy for

When Assemblymember Tom Ammiano proposed a Bill of Rights for the homeless, the response was swift – and sharply divided.

Many observers called it extreme, one newspaper described it as “an embarrassment,” while others defended it vigorously, lauding it as a move long overdue. Among other things, the bill would protect homeless people from