Medical marijuana dispensaries may be banned in Los Angeles, under a proposal by City Councilman Jose Huizar, at least until the Supreme Court resolves the controversy surrounding them.
“This wasn’t an easy decision, but I think if we do nothing at this moment and stick our heads in the sand we would be irresponsible,” Huizar told The Los Angeles Times. “We’re concerned if we do nothing, we’re going to be in an even worse situation than before our ordinance.”
Last month, council members Bernard C. Parks and Jan Perry introduced a motion to ask city officials to recommend how to eliminate storefront marijuana sales, in the first such attempt in the city.
Los Angeles dispensaries opened by the hundreds after the city refrained from enforcing its moratorium on them, but city efforts to regulate them have been blocked by court decisions.
Huizar would repeal the ordinance that chooses 100 dispensaries in a lottery and impose a temporary ban, though in over six years, the council has never leaned toward voting for an outright ban.
“As we stand now, we really have an unenforceable ordinance,” he told the newspaper. “We’re back where we started.”
