Councilmember John Duran has introduced a resolution supporting House Bill 689, a measure that would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substance Act’s list of class 1 controlled substances, which also includes heroin and cocaine.
Introduced in February by Oregon Representative Earl Blumenauer, the house bill would also provide legal protection for medical marijuana patients in states that have approved such use.
As a result of federal law and state law being at odds, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) conducted raids on marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood in January 2007 and in March 2011. California voters approved medical marijuana use in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 215, which also allowed medical marijuana dispensaries to open. West Hollywood currently has four such dispensaries.
