CALL TO ACTION: Pico Rivera, California (near Los Angeles) to treat e-cigarettes like drug paraphernalia (Hearing 6/25/13!)

[Placebo Effect]

The Call to Action below is current as of 6/21/2013. If you are reading this after June 25th, please see CASAA's Call to Action page for this ordinance, as this CTA will likely be updated.


Pico Rivera, California: City May Treat E-Cigarettes like Drug Paraphernalia, Ban All Sales Within the City

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On May 28, 2013, the Pico Rivera City Council adopted an ordinance that placed a 45-day moratorium temporarily prohibiting the issuance of zoning permits to "electronic cigarette retailers, drug paraphernalia retailers and headshops within the city limits." The ordinance itself claims that this action is needed because illegal drugs can be used in some vapor products.

CASAA has learned that the Pico Rivera City Council's staff is planning to request an additional ten month moratorium on the issuance of such permits, with the ultimate goal being to BAN the sales of smoke-free electronic cigarettes within the city of Pico Rivera. This request will be made at their June 25, 2012 hearing (details below).

At the moment, no new Pico Rivera retailer can sell electronic cigarettes. Nonetheless, these same retailers are free to apply for a license to sell cigarettes. Policies like these are contrary to public health, and the Pico Rivera City Council needs to hear from YOU to know that there are people out there who have benefited in tremendous ways from the availability of electronic cigarettes.

The Pico Rivera City Council will holds its next meeting on Tuesday June 25, 2013 at 6:00 PM at the Council Chambers, which is located at 6615 Passons Boulevard in Pico Rivera, CA 90660. There will be an opportunity to make a public comment at the meeting. CASAA is requesting that all of its members in the Pico Rivera, CA area attend and speak in opposition to cigarettes being made more freely available than e-cigarettes. If you can attend, please e-mail us at board@casaa.org with the subject line "Pico Rivera."

Please contact the Pico Rivera City Council, as well as Pico Rivera Community & Economic Development Director Julia Gonzales Julia Gonzalez, at the below e-mail addresses / phone numbers. Tell them your story about how electronic cigarettes helped you quit, send them some snippets from CASAA's vast library of scientific literature on e-cigaretes, and urge them to reject any ordinance that would impact the availability of e-cigarettes in Pico Rivera.

Emails can also be sent to the Mayor & Council at: spena@pico-rivera.org
Mayor Gustavo Camacho
Mayor Pro Tem Brent Tercero
Councilmember Gregory Salcido
Councilmember David W. Armenta
Councilmember Bob Archuleta

Please cc Julia Gonzalez on your e-mails: juliagonzalez@pico-rivera.org

 

[AgentAnia]

WhatwhatWHAT!!! Are they also denying zoning permits to retailers who sell spoons? And to pharmacies who sell syringes?

Though I don't live in Pico Rivera (and evidently should be glad of it...) am going to shoot them a RAID email (Rational Advice and Information Delivery) to counter the ANTZ...

 

[ClippinWings]

This is Appalling!!!

I find it interesting that there appear to be no Brick and Mortar stores in Pico Rivera to begin with... there's like a giant black whole of B&Ms int hat area.... though they may simply not be listed.

I'm replying mostly to Bump this, hoping others see it... this would set a NASTY precedent and all vapers need to be aware of it.

This makes me sick.

They should probably include rolling papers... i mean "spoons" is funny... and obviously sarcastic.... but Rolling papers, seem like the perfect analogy.

 

[ClippinWings]

I've updated my signature... maybe members who don't frequent this forum will see it.

 

[DC2]

I would like to think that the MASS of vaping shops surrounding this area will crush this absurdity.

 

[NancyB]

Anyone not having ever lived in California will see this action by Pico Rivera as outlandish - but it's common practice if you've lived in CA.

Del Mar (northern San Diego County) does not allow ANYONE to walk down the street/sidewalk smoking an analog, or in a park, or anywhere OTHER than your own home (indoors) or in your own car (with windows rolled up? - sarcastic part! ?true?).

Hubby and I were raising puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, attending an outing of puppy raisers up in Del Mar's city park and learned the hard way I couldn't smoke while 'out and about' in their city. We never returned to their 'fine city'.

I wish we were closer so I could attend the meeting where this will be discussed and voted on - I'd give them an earful!!

Of all the things to ban, they pick on e-cigs? and they say there's no loss in revenue (fiscal impact) from banning such a business in their city? That little phrase is enough to let normal adults see how - stupid/lack of knowledge - those folks are who hold 'government positions' in that state/city.

ARGH - this has got me going good !!!! so dang frustrating to finally find something that actually WORKS GOOD when trying to quit smoking and then to find ordinances like this being considered - they just don't know the full story!

NancyB
(hubby & I are now fulltime RVers in our retirement, currently across the country dealing with our own issues, or we'd be there to 'enlighten' them.) Thanks CASAA for working for us all!!!

Edit/Add ons:
Will Pico Rivera next ban all Starbucks? (coffee/caffeine) - it's all part of their jobs in government to look out for their own welfare (first) and look good while doing so, but come on guys/gals, be reasonable and do your homework before proposing such ordinances/bans on businesses!! We live in AMERICA! It used to have many more freedoms of choice for us as individuals.... (ie, Get out of my face, government!!)

Have any of you e-cig users seen ANY illegal DRUGS {MODERATED} being offered or discussed in the e-cig retail stores? I haven't. Are there vapers who put illegal drugs into their e-cig devices? I know of none - but perhaps I'm naïve in that area....

 

[DC2]

Del Mar (northern San Diego County) does not allow ANYONE to walk down the street/sidewalk smoking an analog, or in a park, or anywhere OTHER than your own home (indoors) or in your own car (with windows rolled up? - sarcastic part! ?true?).

I didn't know that.

I go to the dog beach in Del Mar all the time.
I vape openly there, and always will, no matter what laws they have.

I sincerely doubt anyone will ever try to stop me.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't fight these kinds of BS laws though.

Regardless, I'm all for civil disobedience when it's called for.

 

[AgentAnia]

this would set a NASTY precedent and all vapers need to be aware of it.

Having google-mapped Pico Rivera and seen that it is but a tiny municipality in the Los Angeles sprawl, I am no longer concerned (in my heart, at least) for the vapers of Southern California, who can simply travel a few miles to the nearest non-Pico-Rivera vape shop.

What really REALLY concerns me, as you point out ClippinWings, is the precedent being set if this ordinance is enacted. It's the first time I've seen legislation/regulation that lumps ecigs in with illegal paraphernalia, and I find it completely ominous that other munis may pick up on this as a way to restrict access to ecigs.

I'll help you keep this bumped up to prominence if need be.

 

[Uma]

Supposedly, there is a Hooka type pen thingie being sold in gas stations or wherever. Supposedly a few kids were seen using these pens in some school bathroom in the L.A. area.
I imagine, if this is true, that it is the legal illegal grow in your own backyard type of medicine that is being used. If this is true, then these supposed underage medicine takers have permission from their Doctor to use the herbal alternative for their Cancer, ADD, Migrains, High Blood Pressure, DIABETES(sp), ...
I don't know if under 18 cancer patients can get a medicinal card. Is there where the problem lies?

 

[Uma]

In any case, I believe the Hooka type pen thingie being sold in gas stations or wherever, are the ones that should be addressed, not the eCig vendors, users. This really is a separate issue altogether and all sides to this need to be researched and addressed properly. To lump sum all products and people is detrimental in the long run, as we are witnessing as I type.

 

[NancyB]

I didn't know that. I go to the dog beach in Del Mar all the time. I vape openly there, and always will, no matter what laws they have. I sincerely doubt anyone will ever try to stop me. That doesn't mean we shouldn't fight these kinds of BS laws though. Regardless, I'm all for civil disobedience when it's called for.

I agree with you, when it's wrong, let 'em know how you feel about it! If they ask what we're doing, answer in a way as to not make them look stupid but do try and educate them, nicely with a sort of testimony type thing! (grin)

Hubby once got a ticket on 'Solana Beach/Dog Beach' (same one you talk about between beach towns of Del Mar and Solana Beach) for no 'leash' on his dogs (2 golden retriever puppies) - he fought it in court, showing pictures of the close-by Life Guard stand with no signs dis-allowing dogs off leash... The 'ranger' then showed HIS pictures of a Life Guard stand WITH pictures of the prohibiting signs - who knows where that LG stand was actually located, but it wasn't on Dog Beach! - Judge threw David's case out, then asked for any others in the audience with similar tickets and threw them all out of court too - grin. whew! saved us big bucks back then!

It is hard to find a beach (in So.Calif.) where our dogs could also enjoy a bit of freedom to play and run and get wet! so sad, not fair.... I think/know this came about because 'some' dog owners don't clean up after their pets properly nor make them behave nicely while in public places - and we all end up paying for that laziness of the minority folks.

I think on this analogy often when 'vaping in public'... am I being 'good'? I personally, sure wouldn't want to cause some laws to be written banning vaping in public by anything I did in a stealthy mode! haha (but I do, also, sneak a puff occasionally when 'waiting' in places...)

 

[Berylanna]

Dear City Council of Pico Rivera:

If the Sheriff came to you and asked permission to lock the fire escape on a nightclub where a fire was smoldering, because failure to lock the escape would let someone smoke medical XXXXXX without a card get away with it, would you go along with allowing 49 people to die of smoke inhalation so he could catch someone using pot?

There is massive evidence and scientific analysis showing that e-cigarettes are about 98% safer for the lungs than cigarette smoke. If forbidding e-cigs in your town keeps 100 smokers who would have switched from doing so, 49 of them WILL die (smoke inhalation kills 50% of smokers, this is well-known.)

I hope your Sheriff is merely unaware of this.

We can only hope that thousands of other smokers in your town will save themselves by going to nearby towns to purchase what they need to stop inhaling smoke. But the odds are a few hundred will not bother, and just keep smoking.

Professor John Britton, Chair Tobacco Advisory Group Royal College of Physicians, reported by the BBC on 11 February 2013

“Nicotine itself is not a particularly hazardous drug,” says Professor John Britton, who leads the tobacco advisory group for the Royal College of Physicians. ”It’s something on a par with the effects you get from caffeine.

“If all the smokers in Britain stopped smoking cigarettes and started smoking e-cigarettes we would save 5 million deaths in people who are alive today. It’s a massive potential public health prize.”

Please do not lose sight of the probable 18% of Pico Rivera residents who smoke and need to be free to switch, that would be a deadly degree of tunnel vision. California already forbids sales of e-cigarettes to minors, and minors mostly don't like e-cigs anyway.

I'm attaching a documented medical study on the quitting success of smokers who DID NOT EVEN WANT to quit, when given electronic cigarettes.

Thank you, and I hope you do the right thing.

Jan Parcel
California Resident, ex-smoker, nicotine vaper, engineer, grandmother
Attachment: IJCMecigsDepressionJuly2011.pdf

 

[Petrodus]

Advice to all those in California opposing e-cigarettes
when they see Berylanna coming ....

 

[retired1]

Advice to all those in California opposing e-cigarettes
when they see Berylanna coming ....

Especially when she's carrying one of these!

 

[BostonVape]

what a joke.

 

[Fiamma]

I suppose no one did any research on this in Pico Rivera. I've read that our type of E Cigs do not have enough heat generated in our atomizers to vaporize {OTHER} products. I have seen vaporizers advertised that do. They are not one and the same. Willful ignorance is rampant in the land, promoted by the prohibitionists.

I find it ludicrous that the State of Ca can promote 'medicinal use' of {SOMETHING} and not allow smokers a far less dangerous form of getting nicotine than smoking tobacco. One has to wonder what the e cig prohibitionists are smoking.

I find it correspondingly ludicrous that BP is not all over {THIS SOMETHING} as it is sold as a 'medicinal product' and presumably cuts into their sales of drugs.

 

[CookeMonster]

I believe there are ... juices out there that can be used in our products, but will gunk up coils faster. SMALL market though. A smaller percentage of {MODERATED} are going to use e-juice than nicotine users. And there will be no effect on curbing drug use by this. My God. This feels so much like the new gun laws. Feel good legislation to get reelected but make no improvement and infringe on a lot of people's rights. I don't have time or money right now for one fight, let alone for two fights. Time to vote with my feet and take my tax dollars out of California.

 

[sonicdsl]

Please watch what you are posting folks...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ation/255864-why-we-dont-allow-drug-talk.html

 

[Uma]

Any updates on this disaster of a paranoid uprising?

edit:
SWEET!!! Victory Update here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ctory-pico-rivera-we-can-make-difference.html

edit edit:
But there's still more work to do: http://blog.casaa.org/2013/06/urgent-call-to-action-pico-rivera-ca.html
CASAA update call to action.

 

[NancyB]

Please watch what you are posting folks...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ation/255864-why-we-dont-allow-drug-talk.html

Opps! my apologies if I innocently began this 'wrong directed discussion' - won't repeat, I promise. NancyB