In an 11-3 vote in Tuesday, the LA City Council approved the first reading of a Medical Marijuana ordinance, requiring that dispensaries be at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks, libraries and other places children congregate.
The council will have to vote again next week for final approval because the ordinance did not receive support from all 12 members. But advocates for collectives were relieved, because a second vote with a majority in favor will pass the law.
Prior to today's discussion, the council had already resolved key issues -- including whether to impose a cap on the number of dispensaries citywide and how far dispensaries should be from homes. The LA Times reported:
The ordinance sets new rules for dispensaries that council members hope will curtail the anything-goes environment that made Los Angeles the vivid epicenter of the money-fueled Green Rush that erupted when the Obama administration announced last year that it would no longer prosecute dispensaries adhering to California's medical marijuana laws.
Hundreds of dispensaries have opened despite the city's 2007 moratorium, angering neighborhoods that have seen store after store pop up on main commercial boulevards.
The City Council began to consider the issue four and a half years ago when it asked the police department to make recommendations. The department found just four dispensaries, but called for rules to keep them from schools and recreational areas. Two years later, when the council imposed its moratorium on new stores, 186 registered with the city to operate under the ban.
The ordinance caps the number of dispensaries at 70, but allows exceptions for those that registered under the moratorium and are still in business. All other dispensaries will have to close, though some are making plans to challenge the city's ordinance in court.
To make sure collectives are not operating for profit, an independent certified public accountant would have to audit the collectives every year and submit the findings to the City Controller. Building and Safety inspectors and police officers would have to examine the location.
