Lawsuit Filed Over L.A. Medical Marijuana Ordinance

A new law regulating medical-marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles is being challenged by activists who say the rules are too onerous, Reuters reported March 3.

The law is slated to go into effect on March 14, but medical-marijuana activists are asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to block implementation, saying the measure violates the due-process rights of dispensaries.

Under the ordinance, dispensaries would be effectively banned from most residential and commercial areas, and those forced to shut down would only have seven days to find a new location.

Los Angeles currently has up to 1,000 medical-marijuana dispensaries; the law is expected to shut down all but about 140 of them.