L.A. dispensary group abandons ballot measure, supports city’s

A group of Los Angeles medical cannabis dispensaries has formally disavowed a ballot initiative it had gotten qualified for the March 7 municipal election in order to support a parallel ballot measure put forward by the City Council.

Both initiatives would establish a regulatory framework for the marijuana industry in Los Angeles, but for the sake of working hand-in-hand with public officials, the UCBA Trade Association has announced it would campaign in favor of the council’s measure.

“Because our initiative qualified, that put a little bit of pressure on the city to make sure they got their initiative ready for the ballot. That was our goal,” said Jerred Kiloh, president of the UCBA Trade Association that wrote the dispensaries’ measure. “We never really wanted to run a campaign against the city. So this worked out exactly the way we were planning and hoping.”

Kiloh said the UCBA and its allies formally agreed Thursday to orphan their own measure and support the city’s. To that end, the UCBA also will be writing a “ballot argument” for a Los Angeles voter pamphlet that will outline why it’s supporting Proposition M, the council’s initiative, instead of Prop N, its own initiative.