City grants delay in enforcement of medical marijuana ordinance in wake of poor handling by Los Angeles officials

Medical marijuana dispensaries have been given six more months to comply with the city’s ordinance, which seeks to close all but about 50 of the 500 dispensaries, while limiting who can manage the remaining dispensaries and where they can be located.

As our L.A. medical marijuana dispensary lawyers have reported, the extension has nothing to do with a softening of the city’s position. Essentially, its creation and management of the ordinance has been so flawed and disastrous that it had not choice but to extend the deadline.

The Los Angeles Times reports a requirement a dispensary be under the same management has been dropped. That requirement dropped the number eligible to continue operating below 50 — even the city had expected at least 75 of the dispensaries would remain in business.

Dispensaries had until Dec. 4 to comply with the ordinance. But more than 5 months after it went into effect, the city had not approved a single dispensary. The biggest issue was a requirement in the ordinance that dispensaries be under the same management as they were three years ago when they registered with the city clerk. Many have changed or added managers, just as many businesses would over a period of years.

The city eliminated the controversial requirement but did leave a requirement that at least one of the original owners is still involved with a dispensary’s operation.

The CANNABIS LAW GROUP is representing more than a dozen dispensaries in lawsuits over local city and county ordinances in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Call 949-375-4734 for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.