Dennis RomeroIn an “ask me anything” session on Reddit last night Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti distanced himself from his consistently strict stances on medical marijuana dispensaries.
In fact, he reiterated that he would support full legalization, saying, ” … I have consistently said that the federal government needs to reclassify cannabis:”
And that if the voters of California wanted to legalize recreational use, I would support that.
Of course, Garcetti did a masterful dance around the fact that he's been pretty hard on otherwise legal pot shops in the city of L.A.
… I didn't introduce the motion or measures to do ban dispensaries, I voted to abide with recent court rulings so we could get on the ballot something that would preserve access and help us also get out the bad actors. As a result, I supported (the successful) passage of Measure D to provide safe access and give us some tools to help regulate the number of dispensaries, just as we do with restaurants or coffee houses.
Credit: Patrick Morris / Flickr
Makes Garcetti sound like a true friend of the decriminalization movement.
What he didn't tell the young white men of Reddit is that he voted to ban dispensaries outright and was council president during an earlier move by the body to crackdown on pot shops, a move that was blocked by a judge.
-With reporting from LA Weekly staff writer Gene Maddaus.
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