Los Angeles Shuts Down Over 500 Marijuana Shops, 100 More Still Operating

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced on Thursday that his office helped with the closing down of over 500 marijuana shops since the approval of Proposition D. “Many were close to schools, child care centers and other sensitive sites. Others were disrupting the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” he said.

In May 2013 when Prop D was passed, Los Angeles voters supported the operation of only a limited number of shops that sell medical marijuana. However, illegal shops have been erected anyway, which resulted to the crackdown by city officials. Since then, there has been a decline of marijuana shops in the city.

Out of the estimated 700 marijuana shops, only around 140 of them were expected to comply with the new standards, which require medical marijuana shops to be registered and erected far from schools or child care centers.

As reported on the Los Angeles Times, Feuer said that there has been a decline in the neighbourhood complaints over illegal shops that sell marijuana. According to him, “unlawful dispensaries” have been shut down at a rapid pace.

While there has been a successful decline in illegal marijuana shops, city officials are unaware of the real number of shops that are still operating, comparing the mission to a game of whack-a-mole. By imposing guidelines set in Prop D, city officials still hope that those who have plans in opening a marijuana shop would think long and hard about doing so.

Residents and Prop D supporters have also complained that if one shop closes, a new one would open in just a week. Feuer said that more than a hundred shops are still operating in the city, but the city attorney urged the public to provide any information on illegal marijuana shops by sending an e-mail to atty.medicalmarijuana@lacity.org.

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