L.A. Agrees to Limit Medical-Marijuana Dispensaries

(From the WSJ.com) The Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to limit the number of medical-marijuana dispensaries in the city to 70, a move that could dramatically scale back the hundreds that have cropped up here. The council still must vote on the ordinance to regulate dispensaries, which is expected to include a host of other restrictions.

When the state passed a law allowing for medical-marijuana cooperatives in 2004, Los Angeles never set forth guidelines for how they should operate. That led to the rampant growth of dispensaries: The number in the city is estimated at 1,000, making medical marijuana one of the city’s fastest-growing industries.

As more dispensaries opened, police, city officials and residents complained that many were illegal cash businesses that had little to do with medical care. The city decided to crack down.

Read more here: L.A. Agrees to Limit Medical-Marijuana Dispensaries