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Los Angeles tries again to get control of pot shops
The exterior of the La Brea Collective medical marijuana dispensary is seen in Los Angeles Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009.
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AP Photo/Reed Saxon
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Los Angeles tries again to get control of pot shops
Los Angeles tries again to get control of pot shops
The Los Angeles City Council last week tried again to get control of pot shops dotting the city.
Lawyers for the city of Los Angeles have drafted a "temporary urgency ordinance" in response to a judge’s preliminary injunction that blocked last year’s pot law. That law said only medical marijuana dispensaries registered with the city before November of 2007, plus those that escaped a moratorium extension, can continue to operate.
The judge ruled the city had improperly extended the moratorium, creating confusion among dispensary owners. He also blocked L.A. from requiring dispensaries to give police access to the names, addresses and phone numbers of patients, without a search warrant.
The L.A. City Council will consider revising that provision to let patients provide only a county-issued medical marijuana card that does not contain personal information.
Meantime, the law’s provision that requires dispensaries to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, public parks, public libraries and religious institutions, as well as from each other, remains intact.
City officials hope to keep the number of dispensaries below 187. As many as a thousand covered L.A. at one time.
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