More Medical Marijuana Stores in Los Angeles Ordered Closed
Sixty illegal medical marijuana dispensaries have been ordered closed by Los Angeles city officials, according to a feature on the Los Angeles Times.
The letters to these stores were sent out two weeks after orders went out to operators and landlords of 141 pot shops to close down. The letters carry warnings that violators could be sued, and that the city could seek financial penalties and “padlock the property.”
City employees checked each of the stores that were notified recently to ensure that these businesses were indeed open, according to Asha Greenberg, the assistant city attorney overseeing the enforcement efforts. She shared further that the office was unclear about these locations, and that it has not yet found out if all the stores are selling marijuana.
The letters that were sent out asked for a response, and so far, the city attorney’s office has received information on two dozen locations, according to Greenberg. Eleven dispensaries are already closed. Six stores were going to be closed by their owners, while six were still open. One store has denied that it was a medical marijuana dispensary.
If the suspected dispensaries that received notification letters do not close, the city attorney’s office will work with the police department in the gathering of evidence for use in court proceedings, so that these stores could be shut down.
The dispensaries that received notifications were those that did not register for a lottery that would choose 100 dispensaries that will be allowed to operate. Los Angeles received 228 such applications.
This is certainly welcome news for dispensary owners who have had to contend with marijuana raids despite the fact that they are operating in states that legally allow the medical use of marijuana. In the Los Angeles area, the Drug Enforcement Administration is known for cracking down on medical marijuana, some rather indiscriminately, leaving businessmen disappointed and distraught.
