A decision filed on Tuesday by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles has ruled that the medical marijuana dispensary ordinances recently enacted by the Southern California city of Long Beach are in violation of federal law. Specifically the three-judge panel ruled the “dispensary lottery” that [link|http://hightimes.com/news/mmiller/7211 |Long Beach was conducting] was tantamount to authorizing the distribution of marijuana, which is a direct violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act, which outlaws the possession and sale of pot – medical or otherwise. 
 
Municipal regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries via permit-based ordinances has become the norm in big-city California, but this latest ruling casts doubt on the process. Joe Elford, lead counsel for the medical cannabis advocacy organization Americans for Safe Access told the Los Angeles Times: “Obviously it’s not a decision we’re happy about…it creates a fair amount of uncertainty.”
 
The ruling’s already having an impact, as in Los Angeles where assistant city attorney Jane Usher announced the appellate decision kills the City of Angels’ plans to hold a lottery in which 100 approved dispensaries were to be chosen. However, Elford said the ruling “creates a very fine line” as it clearly still permits cities to regulate dispensaries, such as restricting their locations, and he told the Times: “I'm very optimistic that this case is not going to sound the death knell for regulation of dispensaries.”
 
The Long Beach City Council can either appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court or redraft the ordinance to comply with federal law – if that’s even possible. A Long Beach dispensary that had been ordered to shut down when the city authorized the lottery ordinance originally brought forth the lawsuit that the appellate court ruled on. After the court's decision and the fallout to possibly follow, it’s hard to say if those former dispensary operators got what they wanted with the suit.
 
More @ [link|http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-ruling-20111006,0,4672511.story|latimes.com]