New Medical Marijuana Facility Opens in Eagle Rock

Just a day after the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee voted unanimously to approve an ordinance proposed by Council Member José Huizar to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, a marijuana collective opened in Eagle Rock at the same location where a previous facility had operated until the LAPD shut it down earlier this month.

Called “Together For Change,” the marijuana dispensary set up shop Wednesday in Unit B of the mini mall located on 2501 Colorado Blvd., familiar to legions of medical cannabis patients and customers as the well-known storefront where the American Eagle Collective long maintained a stout presence. Acting on orders from the District Attorney’s office, LAPD narcotics officers raided and closed AEC on May 2, allegedly for indulging in “illegal activity that’s inconstant with medical marijuana laws.”

The new store has no sign outside, although the same security guard who stood outside the former AEC facility could be seen hanging around the premises in what appeared to be the same black uniform and hat. A visit inside the store revealed the distinct aroma of marijuana and practically the same décor in the lobby.

A male employee behind a fortified glass window told Patch that the store has new owners and that it opened Wednesday “under a new management.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the D.A.’s office is planning to take any action against the opening of an ostensibly new store in the same premises from where it had ordered the AEC closed.

However, according to an e-mail message sent to a concerned neighbor by an LAPD officer familiar with the May 2 crackdown on AEC revealed that the D.A.’s office “has failed to file” and “I’m directed to stand down until further” notice. The e-mail, forwarded to Patch on condition that its recipient’s identity be kept confidential, suggested that Council Member Huizar or LAPD Northeast Division Capt. Bill Murphy could meanwhile be contacted.

The AEC was one of three Eagle Rock-based medical marijuana dispensaries facing lawsuits by the City Attorneys office. While the AEC was accused of violating zoning laws, the facility’s landlord, Penny Botsch, who owns Adams Wilshire Engraving Inc., a printing store directly next doors, is battling a separate lawsuit in which she has been accused of violating health and safety codes by leasing property to a business that deals in a controlled substance.

A motion to seek a preliminary injunction against AEC is scheduled on Thursday, May 31, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 311 of the Central Civil West courthouse of Superior Court Judge John Wiley, Jr., located at 600 South Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles, 90005.