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Volume 8 Issue 309
Santa Monica Daily Press PLANKTON PROBLEM SEE PAGE 6
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THE BAD WEEKEND FOR FOOTBALL ISSUE
Medical pot dispensary hits roadblock BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL They look more like grandmas than the aspiring owners of a medical marijuana dispensary. But despite their small frame, silver hair and soft-spoken matronly disposition, they aren't and they are. Long-time friends Judith Eton, 67 of Brentwood, Harriet Simon, 75 of Encino, and Judy Uhrman, 65 of Encino, came into Santa Monica with dreams of opening an herbal and holistic pharmacy that would have the city's first medical marijuana dis-
pensary, hoping to give patients from nearby Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Saint John's Health Center a means to acquire cannabis without having to step into Los Angeles. “It sounded like a good idea,” Eton said. “It turned out to be way harder than you think.” What they learned recently is the reason why there are no dispensaries in Santa Monica while a proliferation of them has taken place in the city to the east where there's supposedly more places to buy medical pot than grande soy lattes. It's simply just not allowed in Santa Monica.
They received a reminder last week when after waiting through a nearly seven-hour meeting the City Council informed the women that they could not take action on their request for a conditional use permit to open a dispensary because there is nothing on the books regarding the type of business. Instead several councilmembers said they would like to wait until the Land Use and Circulation Element — a new comprehensive city planning document — is completed some time next year after which medical marijuana dispensaries could be considered when officials review the zoning code for changes. Santa Monica officials said they also want
to wait and see the outcome of the medical cannabis issue in Los Angeles where the City Council there is about to consider a new stringent ordinance that would dramatically cut the number of dispensaries which some estimate to be more than 1,000. “We need to learn from the city of Los Angeles' experience which has been disastrous because they didn't think through the process and have all sorts of craziness going on now,” Councilwoman Gleam Davis said at the meeting on Oct. 27. The number of dispensaries that popped SEE DISPENSARY PAGE 8
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
HALLOWEEN 2009
Vikings ignite too late against Culver City BY WILL WEISS Special to the Daily Press
CULVER CITY Going into their third Ocean
(Top left) Surfers Kenny Morrison (front) and Dax Miller dress up as Teletubbies during the first annual ZJ Boarding House Haunted Heats Halloween surf competition on Saturday. (Top right) Tia Hansen, 3, has Evan Rubin paint her face like a witch during the McKinley Elementary School Halloween Harvest Festival on Friday. (3) Employees of Nails Spa Lane hand out candy on Montana Avenue on Saturday. Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
League contest, the Samohi Vikings had expected to face a challenge. The team traveled to Culver City to battle the Centaurs, then 8-1 and, like the Vikings, undefeated in league play at 2-0. What the Vikings didn’t expect was to find themselves on the wrong side of a 28-0 mountain with four minutes remaining in the first half, outrun, outblocked and outmatched by the talented Centaur squad, and still an entire half game’s length away from what would become a 49-28 road loss for the Vikings, bringing their league record to 2-1. “We couldn’t give up big plays. We had to tackle well and we didn’t do that early,” said Samohi Head Coach Travis Clark. “I told myself and I told my team if we can hold them to 30 or under then we’ll be fine. But we can’t give them 49 or we’re in trouble.” Samohi planned ahead for the game, expecting an aerial assault from senior quarterback Marquel Carter. But the Vikings SEE SAMOHI PAGE 9
Gary Limjap
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