Editor’s Note: This post was originally published January 2, 2017, and has been updated with the most recent information.
When the clock struck midnight Monday morning, recreational marijuana sales officially became legal in the state of Southern California. But you might not know it in Los Angeles.
Only four pot shops are selling in the LA area—and they’re all in West Hollywood.
“It’s been a wild, wild ride since 6 a.m,” says Dina Browner (aka Dr. Dina), proprietor of Alternative Herbal Health Services.
The store was one of the lucky few to receive temporary permits from the city of West Hollywood that went into effect Tuesday.
“At this point I feel like I need a bigger store,” Browner says.
Though most of the LA’s many medical marijuana dispensaries are still peddling their wares, Angelenos without a doctor’s note still have few (legal) options when it comes to buying the drug.
On New Year’s Day, the closest place to Los Angeles where recreational marijuana was available was in Orange County, of all places. Seven dispensaries in Santa Ana received last-minute licenses to sell the drug Saturday, the Orange County Register reported.
Why aren’t more vendors selling to recreational users in LA? The answer’s a bit complicated.
Proposition 64, the ballot measure that legalized recreational cannabis in California, left it up to local governments to regulate sales of the drug. Many cities have chosen not to allow sellers to operate, and others are simply holding off on licensing businesses.
Last month, the city of Los Angeles established a regulatory framework for marijuana sales, which will eventually clear the way for businesses to begin selling the drug to recreational users.
But vendors won’t be able to apply for a license until January 3. Once they have that, they’ll have to get a separate license from the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control.
Many prospective sellers will have a longer wait. That’s because, under the city’s rules, existing medical dispensaries with valid tax certificates will have priority over other businesses.
According to a report from the city controller, only 191 of roughly 1,700 sellers across the city were eligible to receive such certificates as of June, 2017 (139 actually had them at that point).
The new regulations also include a long list of restrictions on where recreational sales will be allowed. Businesses will be barred from operating within 700 feet of schools, public parks, or drug treatment centers.
The Los Angeles Times notes that, given all the restrictions, only about 390 storefronts will be allowed to operate citywide.
In the meantime, plenty of existing medical marijuana clinics are still open for business as nonprofit “collectives” or “cooperatives,” a workaround that allowed many dispensaries to open prior to the passage of Proposition 64.
That doesn’t mean owners aren’t eager to begin selling to a new set of customers. Curbed contacted eight LA-based medical marijuana dispensaries and employees at all but one indicated the business will apply for a recreational license.
Other Southern California cities are also phasing in recreational sales more gradually.
Just before the end of the year, the Long Beach City Council issued a 180-day ban on recreational sales to buy the city time to come up with localized regulations.
In Santa Monica, city officials have banned recreational sales for the time being, though medical sales are now legal. A ballot measure could create a business license tax for cannabis-related businesses, but it’s unlikely that recreational sellers will be allowed to operate within the city for the next few years.
Culver City approved business regulations for recreational sellers last month and will likely begin accepting applications for storefront licenses later this winter.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that cannabis businesses would be unable to operate in Warner Center, Playa Vista, and the areas around USC and LA Live. In fact, businesses will be allowed to operate in those areas under the terms of community-specific guidelines.
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