Tom Ammiano

Homeless Rights Act Says Homeless Can Sleep Outdoors Without Arrest

Do homeless people have the right to sleep in their cars overnight, take up space on a sidewalk for extended periods of time, or access public restrooms? In many cases, police have said no. Cops in L.A. have rousted the homeless for sleeping overnight on sidewalks, for example, leading to legal ac ... More >>

Marijuana Would Be Policed By Calif. Alcohol Authorities Under New Proposal

Who regulates medical marijuana in California? Well, basically, nobody. State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano wants to change that. Today he announced legislation, introduced last month, that would bring medical cannabis under the policing of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The pr ... More >>

Tony Scott's Vincent Thomas Bridge Suicide Inspires Barrier Legislation

Citing Director Tony Scott's fatal dive off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro last summer, a California legislator is proposing that new and rebuilt state bridges contain "suicide barriers." San Francisco state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano says it's too easy to jump off bridges like the Vincent Tho ... More >>

Top 10 Marijuana News Stories For 2012, LA Weekly-Style

If you like drama and marijuana together, then 2012 was the year for you: It was jam-packed with topsy-turvy cannabis news. As the Obama administration cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries in California, the president himself said pot users in marijuana-legal states shouldn't be prosecut ... More >>

Friend Overdosed? Call 911 Without Fear Of Prosecution Under New Calif. Law

You're pal just flat-lined after a night of prodigious partying. And you're afraid to call 911 because you've done some of that illicit partying too. A new law that takes effect Jan. 1 will allow you to do the right thing -- call for help -- without fear of being prosecuted for minor drug violation ... More >>

Why California Democrats Protect Sex Abuser Teachers

How Betsy Butler and Mike Eng torpedoed Alex Padilla's sex-pervert bill, SB 1530

Marijuana Bill to Protect California Dispensaries From City Bans Dies

2012 was supposed to be a big year for marijuana decriminalization advocates. After the near-passage of 2010's full-legalization effort in California, there was resolve to return to the ballot this November. But all proponents could really muster was a bill by Bay Area Assemblyman Tom Ammiano that ... More >>

Marijuana: Republican Dana Rohrabacher Wags Finger at Democrat Obama

Much has been made lately of the Republican party's move to the right and its stubborn refusal to work with Democrats even on issues that some of them it once championed (such as Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health care plan). Well, welcome to opposite land, California, where a conservative Orange ... More >>

Marijuana Law That Would Protect Dispensaries Passes Public Safety Committee

At a time when medical marijuana in California is under attack both by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and cities, like L.A. and Long Beach, that want to ban dispensaries altogether, California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has answer. It's called AB 2312, and the proposed law would regulate pot ... More >>

Marijuana Initiatives in California Flaming Out

In 2010, when we came oh so close to passing a California marijuana initiative that would have legalized it, medical or not, cannabis supporters were elated, confident and maybe even cocky. Prop. 19 was essentially a one-man band, the brainchild of an Oakland dispensary magnate. Just wait until 201 ... More >>

Miramonte Parents Scared L.A. Sheriff Will Deport Them -- Turning Sex-Scandal Probe Into Immigration Debate

As if they don't have enough to worry about.​No matter the hot L.A. news item, it always seems to turn into an immigration debate. And that should come as no surprise: Rough estimates have placed close to 1 million illegal immigrants in Los Angeles County. And whenever law enforcement or pres ... More >>

Marijuana Laws Would Ban Employers From Firing Medical Users, Loosen Penalties For Growing: Sacramento Lobbyists Block 'Em

You know what Sacramento's about.​You, the people, are in favor of laws that make it easier for medical pot users to keep their jobs and that make growing weed a possible misdemeanor. But the reality of politics in Sacramento often has little to do with your will. Business lobbyists and polic ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensaries Could See Tighter Restrictions, Licensing Under Calif. Ballot Initiative Proposed by Pot Advocates

The California initiative process is your bud.​If you look at the marijuana dispensaries around L.A., you might conclude that the pot-shop game is a far cry from the laws voters approved in order to allow the "seriously ill" to share homegrown, nonprofit weed. It has become, even by some of m ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Crackdown in California by Feds Blasted by Golden State Lawmakers Leno, Ammiano

Tiffany RoseFeds want to tear up this prescription.​A pair of California lawmakers is pushing back against a federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries in the Golden State. Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano today lashed out against the pronouncement by Depa ... More >>

Nannies, Babysitters, Housekeepers Could See -- Gasp! -- Minimum Wage Under Proposed Law: Beverly Hills Newspaper Incensed

costumestore.com​A bill that would give "domestic workers" such as nannies the same wage and break rights as pretty much everyone else is moving swiftly through Sacramento. And some of the rich folks who take advantage of those employees don't appear to be too happy about it. AB 889 from ul ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensary Crackdowns by Local Cities All Good Under Proposed California Law

​Some cities have had a hard time regulating marijuana dispensaries (we're looking at you, L.A.). If there was any doubt -- and lawsuits challenging cities that try to crack down abound -- a new state law aims to make it clear that municipalities like Los Angeles can, in fact, tell pot shops ... More >>

Marijuana Cultivation Can Still Mean Jail Time, Even in the Medical Era: California Bill to Make it Possible Misdemeanor Shot Down

LASDGrow weed, go to jail.​In California, it's okay to grow weed for yourself and your collective under medical marijuana law. Unless you're caught. Then you could see felony charges. Strange, huh? Liberal state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a pro-pot force if ever there was one, tried to change t ... More >>

Amsterdam Marijuana Cafes Could Close to Tourists: An Opportunity For L.A. Pot Shops?

This could be us.​This could be a great opportunity for Los Angeles, the marijuana capital of America. Turns out Amsterdam might not want your weed-smoking tourist business anymore. Associated Press reports that "the Dutch Cabinet says it will push ahead with plans to force anyone wishing to ... More >>

California Prisoners Released Under Supreme Court Ruling Could Include Many Nonviolent Drug Offenders, Argues Pro-Marijuana Group

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, Zack.​That U.S. Supreme Court-ordered release of 33,000 California prisoners? Not so bad, says the Drug Policy Forum of California, which argues state lockups have been overcrowded with people who have done nothing more than hold onto natural substa ... More >>

'Seth's Law' to Prevent Anti-Gay Bullying at California Schools Introduced

FoxNelson Muntz.​Every little boy has been called anti-gay slurs by a kid who's bigger and badder. But in a world in which we now realize people are born with homosexual traits from day one, this has become seriously harmful discrimination for kids who really are gay. California Sen. Tom Amm ... More >>

Marijuana: SoCal Man Who Told Cops Someone Stole His Weed Can Keep His Dope

This is legal, maybe.​Oops. We had a little too much fun with the story when we learned that an Orange County man reported earlier this month that someone had burgled his bud -- 25 pounds worth. Really? Just tell 'em nothing was taken was our advice. As it happens, Newport Beach police tell t ... More >>

Grow Weed, Get Your Wrist Slapped Under Proposed California Marijuana Law

This looks felonious to us.​Smoking weed? fairly legal, especially if you have a doctor's recommendation. Having personal-use weed? Same deal. Growing weed? Not so much. Strange, because, if medical marijuana is legal in California, and it's sold at hundreds of outlets in L.A., the pot-shop c ... More >>

Movement Afoot to Make California Medical Marijuana What it Already is: A For-Profit Enterprise

KCETAmerican Eagle Collective.​One of the more farcical aspects of medical marijuana in Los Angeles is the flouting of state law, which says pot shops must be nonprofit. A recent SoCal Connected report estimated that one Eagle Rock pot shop (American Eagle Collective) saw one customer a minut ... More >>

Charles Manson Cell Phone Prison Call On Tape; Big Killers, Mexican Mafia And 8,675 Criminals Use Smuggled Cells In California Prisons

Charles Manson on the line.​Charles Manson had a smuggled cell phone in prison. CBS has truly creepy audio of Manson singing in a sicko call to the outside world. The Weekly explained the ugly game by legislators Mark Leno and Tom Ammiano, who head public safety committees in Sacramento -- and ... More >>

Cell Phones Flooding to Mexican Mafia Prisoners

Schwarzenegger vs. Legislature pissing match means no crackdown

Bill Would End Tax Loopholes Under Prop. 13 For California Businesses

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.​Liberal San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, the man behind a legislative proposal to legalize marijuana, wants to close some of the loopholes in state tax law that have allowed some businesses to change hands without being reassessed for rising property values and c ... More >>

West Hollywood Councilman Gets Behind Full Legalization Of Pot

West Hollywood city Councilman John Duran.​A West Hollywood city councilman says he's the first politician in Southern California to support a statewide initiative that would legalize marijuana for recreational use. The ballot measure, which appears to have enough signatures but which has not ... More >>

Under Proposal, Kids Will Get One Strike Free

Assmeblyman Tom Ammiano.​We've heard of kids flying for free, getting into theme parks for free, even eating at restaurants free of charge. Now a California assemblyman wants to extend the courtesy to children convicted of crimes in the Golden State: Under Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's proposal, c ... More >>

L.A. Times Just Says No To Legalizing Pot In California

​California might be the state where the liberal winds blow first (witness the New Jersey legislature's recent approval of medical marijuana), but the Los Angeles Times says that this time the Golden State has gone too far. An L.A. Times editorial just says no to a proposal in the legislature ... More >>

Weed Takes Root

Marijuana's steady march toward legalization nationwide

Arnold Issues Virtual Finger To Opponent

A gubernatorial veto of a state bill that would have helped to fund projects along the San Francisco waterfront contained a not-so-hidden message of "f--- you," according to several reports.The printed version of the veto contained just that array of letters, spelling out the insult vertically along ... More >>

Reefer Gladness: Pot Spot Touts Tax Benefits

Today in Los Angeles and elsewhere, the Marijuana Policy Project rolls out a new TV ad aimed at persuading state legislators to legalize pot in order to reap the rewards of windfall sales taxes that would presumably accrue from above-board marijuana sales. The 30-second spot features what MPP calls ... More >>

Pelosi’s Problems

The San Francisco Democrat carries baggage of money and special interests

The Erotic Arts

Left and Lefter

Well-heeled Willie Brown dispatches challenger Tom Ammiano in San Francisco’s mayor’s race