Rose Parade ~ Pasadena

A groundbreaking study by Dr. Daniel Rees has shown that fatal traffic accidents are reduced after a state legalizes medical marijuana. The drop was a significant 9% average across the board in states such as California. The essential finding of the study was that increased access to medical marijuana depresses the rate of drinking among 20-29 year olds. Alcohol is frequently cited as the major contributing factor to traffic fatalities, which are the leading cause of death in America for those aged 5-34. You can read more about the study here, or download and analyze the full paper for yourself here.

Phillips Mansion & Currier House ~ Historical Society of Pomona ~ 2640 W. Pomona Blvd. ~ Pomona

In the memory of the pioneers who established the Spadra School District, originally San Jose School District, May 7, 1867. Here passed the trails of mission fathers, emigrants to California, and Butterfield Stage. Dedicated May 18, 1935

Mortuary

UPDATE 10/11/11: Pressure from the City Attorney’s office has caused RAND to remove the study from their website.

The RAND corporation, a non-partisan rightwing think tank, has released a study today which shows that crime shot up over 60% in the three block radius around shuttered pot shops. From today’s Daily News story:

RAND Corp. studied crime reports over the 10 days before and after June 7, 2010, when the city shuttered hundreds of pot shops. The Santa Monica-based think tank found that crime shot up 60 percent within three blocks of closed dispensaries as compared to those where dispensaries were allowed to remain open. “There’s the common wisdom that dispensaries are crime magnets,” said Mireille Jacobson, the study’s lead author and a senior economist at RAND. “And this flies in the face of that.”

“If medical marijuana dispensaries are causing crime, then there should be a drop in crime when they close,” Jacobson said. “Individual dispensaries may attract crime or create a neighborhood nuisance, but we found no evidence that medical marijuana dispensaries in general cause crime to rise.”

The City Attorney’s office had a characteristically nonsensical reply:

“(Dispensaries) are a center for crime,” said Detective Robert Holcomb of LAPD’s Narcotics Enforcement Detail in the San Fernando Valley.

“Look at it from a criminal standpoint: Here is a location that you know contains narcotics, money so what better location to rob?”

By that logic, pharmacies and banks should be shut down immediately, as clearly they are magnets for crime! Also, we should definitely allow criminals to dictate what type of businesses are allowed to operate in our city, and not patients, caregivers and doctors.

Pretty cool little video following Jim Mahfood on the day of the Marijuana Man release party (4/20). The book is in stores and digital comic outlets now, so pick it up!

Enjoy your day/night, and don’t forget to browse the LA TACO Horticulture section for some inspiration. Also if you’re going to be out and about, check out the Marijuana Man Release Party at Golden Apple Comics tonight.

L.A. County Fair 2010 ~ Pomona

Orange County Fair ~ Costa Mesa

The All-American Boys Chorus

Pomona ~ CA

Angel’s Flight ~ Los Angeles

A while back we talked here on LA Taco about the new Medical Marijuana ordinance that would should shut down most shops.  Now the deadline is here for more than 400 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to close as ordered by the city.  Although the LAPD has acknowledge that it would wait to see who complies before breaking any doors down, the penalties are as high as $2,500 per day and as ridiculous as jail time.

This is just the beginning.  Although last-minute legal challenges were thrown out of court, you can bet there will be many lawsuits to come.

And don’t forget we vote on the Tax, Regulate and Control Cannabis Act of 2010 on November 2nd.  Do your homework and make an informed decision.

A look at the map of dispensaries ordered to close via the LA Times.