Which Way, L.A.?
City Cracks Down Hard on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Years after Californians legalized medical marijuana, the LA City Council finally got around to writing an ordinance. Hundreds of dispensaries melted away, but 169 applied to operate under new regulations. Yesterday, the city approved just 41, and operators who claim they did everything right are outraged. Also, what does the LAPD mean by "predictive policing?" On our rebroadcast of To the Point, the joys and sorrows of coming home from the war in Iraq.
By Warren Olney • • 52m ListenYears after Californians legalized medical marijuana, the LA City Council finally got around to writing an ordinance. Hundreds of dispensaries melted away, but 169 applied to operate under new regulations. Yesterday, the city approved just 41, and operators who claim they did everything right are outraged. Also, what does the LAPD mean by "predictive policing?" On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, with American combat in Iraq now over, soldiers are coming home in unprecedented numbers. We look at what can happen after the happy returns.
Banner image: Lev Goukassian, owner of the Nirvana Pharmacy, a medical marijuana shop in Los Angeles, California, works on his products on March 24, 2010. Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesThe Pot Crackdown: From 400 to 41
During years when the City Council was otherwise occupied, hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries sprung up all over Los Angeles. When the Council finally passed a restrictive ordinance , 169 applied to stay in business. Yesterday, the City Clerk announced that just 41 will be eligible .
Read the story14 minPredictive Policing: Next Frontier of High-Tech Crime Fighting?
Powerful computers tell WalMart that when the weather turns bad, customers want strawberry pop tarts -- not just any pop tarts, but strawberry. When a tropical depression occurs on the ocean, WalMart has strawberry pop tarts on store shelves before the storm hits the Florida coast.
Read the story11 minComing Home from the Iraq War
From the deep South to the Midwest to California and Washington State, military bases and surrounding towns are bulging these days with the last combat soldiers coming home from Iraq. "The returns are moments of celebration and relief, but tension and peril can lie ahead."
Read the story27 min
