The Weekly Newspaper of Manhattan Beach
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 Vol. 12, No. 1 January 4, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified and Licensed
Professionals...................3
Classifieds............................4
Entertainment......................6
Finance..................................4
Food.......................................5
Looking Up...........................4
Pets............................. 11 - 12
Politically Speaking............5
Real Estate.................. 7 - 10
Seniors..................................2
Sports....................................3
Weekend
Forecast
Santa and His Sleigh Visit Chamber
Santa, his sleigh and all eight reindeer stopped by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce to say hello and pick up some “elves.” Santa and the elves proceeded through the neighborhood talking
to families and kids. Santa’s elves were Mark Lipps, MB Chamber, Brandon Oates, MB Chamber, DeAnn Chase, Chase Law Group, Jackie Balestra, MB 360 Radio Show, Peter Yollin, Leadership Manhattan
Beach and Sylvia Gayed, Manhattan Tax & Accounting.
Marijuana Trade, Outdoor Plants Banned
See Marijuana, page 3
Friday,
January 5
Partly
Cloudy
67˚/58˚
Saturday,
January 6
Partly
Cloudy
67˚/54˚
Sunday,
January 7
Partly
Cloudy
67˚/54˚
By Rob McCarthy
A century of marijuana criminal law
went up in smoke this week, replaced by a
patchwork of do’s and don’ts for Manhattan
Beach residents and businesses to follow.
California voters in November 2016
approved Prop. 64 to legalize and tax the
cultivation and sale of the flowering hemp
plant. On Jan. 1, marijuana became legal for
recreational adult use by people 21 years
and older.
It had been a crime since 1913 to possess
marijuana in California. That changed on
Monday as adults can grow six marijuana
plants at their homes as long as the plants
are out of plain sight. The strong odor from
mature marijuana plants attracts attention,
and authorities want to deter minors from
getting their hands on easy weed.
However, growing pot outdoors is outlawed
in Manhattan Beach under a temporary ordinance
passed Nov. 21 by the City Council.
The ordinance also put the city off-limits to
the marijuana trade until mid-October, when
the council will revisit the issue of permitting
the newly legalized marijuana trade to
set up shop locally.
This is “an urgency ordinance for the
immediate preservation of the public peace,
health and safety,” the 10-month ban reads. It
applies to for-profit and nonprofit commercial
cannabis activities, including delivery services.
The Do’s
Let’s start here. Adults over 21 can grow
their own marijuana or buy it from a statelicensed
retailer. All licenses must be issued
by the Bureau of Cannabis Control. Adults
can give away marijuana, but cannot sell or
barter with it. The adult-use law also doesn’t
mean the end of medical marijuana. Statesponsored
medicinal pot retailers will be
open for business in early 2018.
Young adults, 18 to 21, can buy medicinal
marijuana with a recommendation from a physician
or a county-issued identification card.
The cannabis control bureau had issued
400 temporary licenses statewide as of Jan
1. Unlike Colorado that was ready with retail
“Naturalization Information Session”
at Manhattan Beach Library
Are your or a loved one interested in
becoming a citizen? Then come to the Manhattan
Beach Library on Monday, January
8th, 2018 at 6:00 PM for a Naturalization
Information Session, a presentation and
Q&A led by representatives from the
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services.
In this program, attendees will learn
about the rights and responsibilities of
citizenship, the requirements to become
a citizen, the naturalization process, the
citizenship test, and the naturalization
ceremony. A plethora of valuable and informative
handouts and booklets will also
be provided to attendees as supplies last.
This event is free and registration is
not required.
Manhattan Beach Library is part of the
County of Los Angeles Public Library,
and is located at 1320 Highland Ave.,
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. For more
information, please call 310545-8595 or
visit the library’s website at colapublib.
org. •
stores on the law’s first day, California’s rollout
is much slower. The state released the rules
for retailers and laboratories in November,
including a requirement that applicant for
licenses comply with local rules.
Now for the Don’ts
Make no mistake. There is a time and a
place for lawful use of recreational pot. And,
there are places where, under no circumstances,
will it be OK to smoke a joint.
Employers have the right to ban the use
of marijuana and cannabis products by their
employees. Getting stoned before or during
the workday is not a protected activity.
Driving while under the influence remains
illegal, the DMV reminded motorists in a
pre-Christmas announcement. A stash of
marijuana must be kept in a closed container
in a vehicle or in the trunk. The open-container
restriction applies to passengers, too.
“The DMV will assign negligent operator
point counts for this violation,” it warned
on Dec. 21.
The annually revised drivers handbook for
2018 will explain the penalties for marijuanarelated
violations.
Traveling across the state line with
marijuana is forbidden, even to Nevada and
Oregon that have legalized pot. It’s not OK
to carry marijuana or cannabis onto federal
property, including national parks and military
bases. That’s because federal law continues
to classify weed as a Schedule 1 drug, making
it illegal to use as a medicine or to kick
back and relax.
A Schedule 1 drug is considered extremely
harmful and without any medical
benefits. Other Schedule 1 drugs include
LSD, heroin and the date-rape drug Ecstasy.
Despite several studies done on marijuana’s
medical benefits, federal authorities haven’t
re-classified marijuana. Nonetheless. 23 states
now allow medical marijuana. Landlords and
private-property owners can ban marijuana
from the premises, too.
Despite the new freedoms, California’s
commercialization of weed isn’t open season
for state-licensed shops in the South Bay.
Carson is the only city open to allowing
marijuana businesses to operate locally. Voters
approved taxing marijuana and cannabis
products grown and sold in the city. There
are no retail shops open yet.
The Bureau of Cannabis Control did not
issue a single temporary license to operate
a cannabis store, growing operation, testing
lab or delivery service in the South Bay, as
of last week. The nearest adult-use retailers
of marijuana are found in West Hollywood
where four retailers had the green light to
open for business on Jan. 1.