HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Medbox, Inc. (Pinksheets: MDBX) (www.medboxinc.com) company CEO, Dr. Bruce Bedrick, announced that in order to protect patient access to medical marijuana in Los Angeles, Medbox will be assisting with a voter referendum to overturn the ban. Furthermore, the company will support setting forth new, sensible regulations governing medical marijuana outlets that work in concert with existing state law - instead of contradicting it, as do the current city regulations.
Medbox supports measures to allow a 90-day registration period in Los Angeles from September through November of 2012, where a medical marijuana outlet must legally register with the City after meeting certain criteria. The criteria shall be that the outlet is the proper distance (1000 feet) away from schools, public parks, and playgrounds; can pay a $5000 registration fee to the City; and submit fingerprint samples to the City of Los Angeles for screening to insure that operators are not convicted felons.
"If we can't get enough signatures, then we will take the matter to court," said Dr. Bedrick. "The courts in California have stated that cities cannot independently ban what the state deems as legal - and the state clearly identifies marijuana outlets as legal," he stated. "We will be fighting the good fight for legal patients and their legal providers so the industry doesn't retreat into black-market drug dealing, which is what the City Council ban will, in effect, create."
By supporting strict legislation that provides clear-cut regulations in new medical marijuana states, as well as sensible city ordinances in existing medical marijuana states like California, Bedrick hopes that the rights of patients that genuinely need and benefit from medical marijuana will be preserved and protected.
"There is a major problem in the Los Angeles medical marijuana industry because an unregulated environment leads to fraud as well as diversion of the drug to non-medical users," Bedrick stated. "We aim to bring legitimacy and transparency to this industry."
About Medbox, Inc:
Medbox is a leader in the development, sales and service of automated, biometrically controlled dispensing and storage systems for medicine and merchandise. Medbox has offices throughout the world, including New York, Tokyo, Connecticut, Arizona and Toronto, and has their corporate headquarters in Los Angeles.
Medbox provides their patented systems, software and consulting services to pharmacies, urgent care centers, clinics, hospitals, and medical groups worldwide.
Medbox, Inc. is a publicly traded company, and is listed on the OTC Board, ticker symbol MDBX.
For more information on Medbox, please contact the Medbox Investor Relations Department at (800) 762-1452 or go online to www.medboxinc.com.
SOURCE Medbox, Inc.