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September 24, 2007

Looking Back: Santa Monica Will Vote on Pot

Brody Mulligan | AP - Distributed Worldwide | Aug 12 2006

SANTA MONICA, CA. - Voters will decide in November if marijuana should become the lowest police priority in the city, as city council members reluctantly ratified a ballot initiative filed by Santa Monicans for Sensible Marijuana Policy earlier this month.

"This initiative, in short, will remove the handcuffs from our esteemed police and allow them to focus on violent and serious crime, rather than persecuting law-abiding and otherwise harmless citizens," said Luciano Hernandez of SMSMP.

Signed by over 8,000 residents, the initiative requires police to answer all calls-for example loud music and parking violations-before dispatching an officer to handle a complaint about someone smoking pot. This does not make marijuana legal, however it severely limits how officers can enforce the law.

"From a practical standpoint, it would be virtually impossible for police to enforce…because there would be other calls that are in a pending queue. Officers would no longer be able to develop probable cause based on observations or [smelling marijuana]," an officer representing the police department said at a meeting weeks prior.

Many council members voiced strong objection over details and language in the initiative, one pointing out that officers on the beach would have to cite someone smoking a cigarette before citing someone smoking a joint.

There is no smoking on Santa Monica Beaches.

A month prior, West Hollywood City Council Members bypassed voters and immediately approved a similar resolution. However, that city is without its own police force, and contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for civil services. They have no legal means of ensuring that sheriff's deputies follow the policy, because state law only allows the use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

If voters approve the initiative, Santa Monica will become the first city in Southern California with its own police force to instruct law enforcement regarding marijuana, prompting other municipalities to do the same.

Located 16 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica (Pop. 103,000) is known to be progressive. It was the first city in L.A. county to outlaw smoking on beaches, which is now commonplace in the region, and was the first city in the nation to pass laws protecting workers laid off due to decreased tourism from the September 11th terrorist attacks.

A recent poll found 65% of registered voters in Santa Monica support the initiative, which is expected to meet little resistance at the polls this fall.

A year ago, I spent the balance of several days inside and out of City Hall in Santa Monica, chasing leads and quotes, finally piecing together something my first distributed piece. A year later, the measure is in full effect, and the election passed by the exact percent I quoted in my article: 65% in favor.

I'd be lying to myself but there is nothing better that I can see.

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September 12, 2007

Dreaming in Los Angeles

It was mostly by the hum of a fan pumping some air into my stagnate apartment, built in the postwar boom near the coast; made of stucco that could soak up the California sun even after it went down. My landlord was an old man, with a european accent I never could pin down. He came by everyday, walking a mile or so from his house further along the tree lined thoroughfares. He said he liked me. We always talked of things. My roommate had a habit of not paying his rent on time and growing pot, and I frequently ferried messages of the sort, on occasion. He gave good advice and was a good man.

People moved in and out so often, I figured he must've been too nice a guy to really put someone out hard if they needed to leave before a lease was up. Like most things in L.A., it was less formal and older than in San Diego--he owned the building outright for a while, and did alright for himself.

Before slipping asleep I often heard the tin crankers out back picking apart the trash in search of aluminum and glass to trade in the morning light for nickels and dimes. Most of the people in our complex just set empty six packs in the carton beside the dumpster, and I did the same with whatsoever glass I had. I also heard arguments, sometimes, because nothing in that town was ever heard by only two.

Sometimes I heard a girl with a baby cry herself to sleep too many nights for me to think about now.

My favourite sound was the undeniable passing of a skateboarder, coasting down the smooth alleyway. Most of the streets had a thin lining of sand that added a rasp with the clanks over the cricks and crags in the concrete, and it was clear when a krew was around.

I had big dreams then, crazy dreams. I dreamt more when I was awake than asleep, and it showed. Everything was falling apart just as I'd pieced it all together. But in the night, a lonely stroll sans shoes on the Autumn boardwalk to the pier and round and a sleepy bus stop with a quiet walk past the latch and my roommate seemed to work forever--if I could just sleep through the night, the morning would come.

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