LA Times: Laguna Woods' retirees still await medical marijuana dispensary

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Laguna Woods' retirees still await medical pot dispensary

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Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times

Responding to some residents' quality-of-life pleas, the city last year agreed to let a marijuana facility set up shop. But so far no landlord has been willing to risk the wrath of Uncle Sam.


By Paloma Esquivel
February 16, 2009


It's just past noon in Laguna Woods, and retired Navy pilot David Masters, 71, has just wrapped up 18 holes on the golf course. The scene beyond him is something out of a postcard: bright green grass framed by blue sky and snow-capped mountains. Just around the corner, a group of retirees pokes gentle fun at one another while they lawn bowl. And in a nearby clubhouse, another social club gathers to chat, share drinks and eat coffeecake.

Such is the pace of life in Laguna Woods, where residents of Laguna Woods Village, one of the largest retirement communities in the country, make up about 90% of the city. Here, the average age is 78, residents drive golf carts to the grocery store and the lawn bowling greens, and bridge games and social clubs are the stuff of daily life.

DMV sued over medical marijuanaSo are illness and pain. Conversation frequently touches on a litany of ailments everyone seems to share -- diabetes, arthritis, glaucoma, cancer -- though dwelling on such matters is something of a taboo. More than anything, people here say they are trying to cope with the realities of aging and illness while remaining engaged in this new phase of life, one in which they refuse to accept that retirement means being closed up and isolated.

This is why, city officials say, they voted late last year to approve an ordinance permitting medical marijuana to be sold in town, the only city in Orange County to endorse cannabis dispensaries. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-laguna-woods-marijuana16-2009feb16,0,2666413.story