CANNABIS REGULATION:
Shortly before L.A. Controller Ron Galperin left office, he released a report “Improving Cannabis Regulation in L.A.”(Visit: https://lacontroller.org/audits-and-reports/review-of-the-citys-cannabis-regulation-efforts/)
He explained that following the passage of Prop 64, Los Angeles residents voted in 2017 to approve Measure M to allow and tax commercial cannabis activity.
The City created the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) that same year to license and regulate commercial cannabis activities. In 2019, the Mayor’s Office formed the Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce to coordinate multi-departmental enforcement efforts to shut down unlicensed cannabis businesses.
Galperin found that the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) has not monitored licensees.
Since 2018, DCR has received more than 7,300 cannabis-related complaints, with more than 5,000 complaints remaining unprocessed with no record of a review or investigation.
These complaints include allegations such as sales to minors, onsite cannabis consumption by employees, and unlicensed retail cannabis sales by a business licensed by DCR for non-retail activities.
DCR has also failed to conduct periodic inspections at licensed cannabis businesses to monitor regulatory compliance. Galperin said the controller’s office had visited six cannabis retail stores licensed by DCR and found a range of minor, moderate, and major violations at each of the storefronts.
LARGE POOL OF WATER ON PCH:
Several residents have written about the large pool of water that accumulates near the mouth of Potrero Canyon on Pacific Coast Highway near lifeguard headquarters. The pool, which seems to collect after rains, effectively shuts down two lanes of north (west) bound traffic.
Many may remember that in August the Los Angeles County Waterworks was placing a new 30-inch water main between Temescal and Potrero Canyons.
At that site LA’s Potrero Canyon Storm Drain is also located. On January 2, CTN contacted CalTrans, which has the right of way on PCH, and also the City of Los Angeles to see if someone could figure out why water was collecting.