Quiz 1

     I am in favor of requiring marijuana dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet away from places where children congregate. It is important to keep our children away from marijuana dispensaries because the dispensaries can attract bad people such as criminals. Also it is best to keep dispensaries as far as possible from schools in order to prevent easy access to children, especially teenagers. Also this would prevent people from buying marijuana and selling it to nearby children if we force these dispensaries to be far from children congregated areas. In both of my maps I displayed schools, libraries, and parks along with their respective 1,000 feet buffer zones. Although at first glance a 1,000 ft buffer zone may seem bit excessive for marijuana dispensaries to comply with due to the high amounts of children congregation areas, a closer look tells otherwise. In both my maps, there are plenty of areas untouched by the buffer zones and many are still in choice locations for a thriving marijuana business.
     In my first map I chose to highlight West Los Angeles because according to sources, this area has a very high density of marijuana dispensaries. Not surprisingly, this area also has a high crime rate as well. It is in our best interest for children's safety to prevent dispensaries from being place near them. Also this area of West Los Angeles has many roads. Drug driving is becoming a huge problem and is making our roads more dangerous. "Drugged driving" incidents are on the rise, and this initiative does not establish standards for driving under the influence of marijuana. Law enforcement will have very little recourse to keep those drugged drivers off the road.If we keep these marijuana dispensaries away from schools, libraries, and parks, hopefully the drug driving incidents around these areas will decrease as well increasing road safety for children who tend to be too often victims of drunk/drug driving.
     Supporters of marijuana claim that dispensaries can increase revenue to the city of Los Angeles but with increased drug use, there are other problem that arise such as the decrease in our security, safety, and social standards. If we see an increase in these problems we have to hire more police officers and government enforcement to protect not only our children but adults. Also it is ludacris & haphazard to promote mind-altering substances into Los Angeles just because it might produce tax revenues.
     We must create a buffer zone around children congregated areas to limit drug exposure. Marijuana has the potential to damage our children and youth and we must protect them. My maps shows that with proper planning, marijuana dispensaries can still operate while not compromising the security of our children.