LA Mayor Calls for Limits on Pot Spots

Villaraigosa says 900 marijuana dispensaries is way too many
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 26, 2009 5:58 AM CST
LA Mayor Calls for Limits on Pot Spots
An employee helps clients select marijuana from jars in a counter at the La Brea Collective medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles.    (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

The Los Angeles City Council has voted to allow dispensaries to continue selling medical marijuana, but the mayor wants to stop the outlets from sprouting like weeds. Antonio Villaraigosa is insisting a cap be placed on the number of dispensaries within city limits, and he wants the council to include limits in its medical marijuana ordinance, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"I can tell you that the current number of 800 or 900 is way beyond what any city should be able to accept," Villaraigosa said. Officials are studying plans to limit the number of dispensaries to between 70 and 200. The mayor believes many of the city's marijuana dispensaries are "trying to drive a truck through loopholes" in the law preventing them from making a profit, and that the number of outlets is making the law difficult to enforce.
(More marijuana distribution stories.)

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