Pot Dispensary Operators Can Finally Exhale
The city discusses -- once again -- plans for LA's medical marijuana dispensaries
David Sutherland
San Diego County temporarily bans medical pot dispensaries.
LA's medicinal marijuana dispensary operators can breathe a sigh of relief.
It's been a two-year struggle, but the LA City Council voted Tuesday evening to allow the continued sale of marijuana -- with a few rules. Primarily, the city might cap the number of dispensaries between 70 and 200.
Provisions to the ordinance were considered Tuesday, despite a power outage at City Hall that delayed the already drawn out issue
Hundreds of pot dispensaries have opened in LA as the city worked on the ordinance during the past 18 months. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has vowed to target any pot clinics engaging in over-the-counter sales.
The council stripped a provision Tuesday that barred sales. Instead, "cash contributions, reimbursements and compensations" for actual expenses will be allowed, as long as they comply with state law.
A cap on the number of dispensaries is among the key elements of the proposal. That's still going to be a downer because LA has more pot dispensaries than Starbucks stores -- close to 1,000.
City officials asked for more research on how that cap might work. It's possible a random drawing might be used to determine who stays and who goes.
But the decision by the council won't be the end of the medical marijuana discussion.
It's possible an even larger question -- legalization -- might go before California voters next year. Fifty-three percent of respondents in the West favor full legalization of marijuana, according to Gallup poll in October.
There's some other stuff to consider, too. LA Times business columnist David Lazarus explains.
