L.A. Orders Closure of 439 Marijuana Dispensaries by June 7

More than 400 marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles will have to shut their doors before a city ordinance regulating such centers takes effect, the Los Angeles Times reported May 5. 

City prosecutors have began notifying dispensaries – many operating illegally or unregistered — to comply by June 7 or face up to sixth months in jail and a $1,000 fine, plus civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day.

Hundreds of new dispensaries appeared last year following the Obama administration’s decision to ease off medical-marijuana cases in states where such programs are legal. Los Angeles had declared a moratorium on new dispensaries in 2007 but didn’t enforce the ban; the new ordinance aims to correct that.

As it stands, around 130 of the 186 dispensaries registered with the city after the 2007 ban will be allowed to remain in operation. Meanwhile, there are two lawsuits in the works — one on behalf of 36 dispensaries, and the other on behalf of patients — that will attempt to strike the measure down.

In the past, even when the city has taken steps to close illegal dispensaries, compliance has been uneven: Of the 53 stores ordered to close last year, only 23 assented, and just six of the 21 dispensaries ordered to close this year shut down their operations.

“We’re not going to get 100 percent,” acknowledged Capt. Kevin McCarthy, head of the LAPD’s Gangs and Narcotics Division. “Obviously, the ones that the community is screaming about are the ones we are going to go to first.”