Last week the City Council decided they'd cap marijuana dispensaries in the city at 70, picking that number because it "sounded reasonable to them," according to the LA Times. Councilmember Jose Huizar, who proposed the cap, actually had a rationale for picking that particular number, according to TIME: it allows "two dispensaries for each of the city's 35 community planning areas -- because he felt that was what the cash-strapped city should adequately regulate." (Eagle Rock in Huizar's district is an especially dispensary-thick neighborhood--the public safety director of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council tells the magazine there are 13 dispensaries in a two and a half mile radius and says, "It's literally the wild, wild West." [Not East?]) The City Council has to make up dispensary caps because they don't know how many people are using dispensaries; patient registration is voluntary. A spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access estimates that "tens of thousands reside in Los Angeles."
The council hasn't voted on the full dispensary ordinance yet because they can't agree on a proposed addition that would prohibit dispensaries near private residences (prohibitions around schools, public parks, and places of worship were already included), and doubling the distance dispensaries need to be from these "sensitive-use areas," from 500 ft to 1,000 ft. Blogdowntown mapped out how that would look for downtown. Medical marijuana users might need to start familiarizing themselves with the Seafood District. [Image via blogdowntown]
· Trouble Ahead for Medical Marijuana in California [TIME]
· Visualizing the Debate Over Marijuana Dispensary Locations [blogdowntown]
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