Pro-Medical Marijuana Councilman Admits To Having Prescription
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Two Westside city council members who opposed the citywide ban on medical marijuana dispensaries admitted on Tuesday to accepting campaign donations —and even patronizing — those businesses.
KNX 1070's John Brooks reports Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz each have different reasons for casting their votes.
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Rosendahl — who represents the 11th District including the cities of Brentwood, Marina del Rey, and Venice — would not reveal which dispensary he frequents, but did acknowledge using marijuana for a decade to reduce neuropathic pain in his feet, a revelation that came as no surprise to Koretz.
"I'm aware of his foot problem and his diabetes," he said. "I actually didn't know he had a prescription, but I'm not surprised."
Rosendahl has accepted $8,900 in campaign contributions from dispensaries and their supporters in the past year, while Koretz has taken around $7,300.
And while Koretz denies using marijuana medically, he said he will continue fighting to make it available for those who need it in his district spanning from Century City and Hollywood to Sherman Oaks and Valley Village.
"It's not my involvement chasing the contributions, it's more people recognizing that I'm a leader and wanting to support me," Koretz said.
Rosendahl was out sick from the council meeting on Tuesday and was unavailable for comment.
Both lawmakers have previously stated their views on medical marijuana were shaped by the AIDS crisis of the 1990s.
Rosendahl even gave a fiery speech during a City Council meeting on June 9, 2009, in which he said that current drug legislation has put "people in prison who shouldn't be in prison to begin with".
