Medical Marijuana Backers Sue LA

Advocates complain new law will force legal shops to shut
Posted Mar 3, 2010 1:57 AM CST
Medical Marijuana Backers Sue LA
Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, one of the plaintiffs in the current lawsuit, selects a vial of marijuana for a client at her store in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Two medical marijuana dispensaries and an advocacy group are taking Los Angeles to court to challenge its crackdown on pot shops. The plaintiffs say the restrictions due to take effect this month would force law-abiding businesses to shut down, the Los Angeles Times reports. They're seeking an injunction and a restraining order to stop the new measures from being enforced.

The city's new ordinance caps the number of dispensaries in the city at 70 while some 1,000 are believed to be currently operating. Dispensary operators will also be forced to move 1,000 feet away from schools, parks and places of worship, one of the rules labeled an "onerous" restriction in the lawsuit. "We want to work with the city to comply with its regulations, but such unreasonable requirements make compliance impossible," said the head of an association of marijuana collectives.
(More Los Angeles stories.)

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