No Dope For You! LA Marijuana Dispensaries Close
A Los Angeles ballot initiative that put rigorous restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries within the city is now in effect, and many have completely closed down:
Dozens of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles have closed, and the city attorney says more will be shutting their doors soon, following a voter-approved crackdown.
Thirty-eight pot shops that do not comply with a municipal ballot measure approved earlier this year are in the process of being shuttered, City Attorney Mike Feuer said. Another 42 shops have decided on their own to close since July, when the new law took effect, he said. Feuer promised Friday more prosecutions will come.
“We’re going to see a major difference in the way that operators and property owners perceive the city,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
The city had struggled for more than five years with how to regulate the budding medical marijuana industry. Voters in May overwhelmingly passed Measure D, which reduced the number of shops sharply, and taxed those that were operating legally under state and local laws.
There were nearly 1,000 nonprofit dispensaries in the city a few years ago. The measure allows only the 134 that opened before a moratorium was attempted in 2007.
