City Sues Marijuana Dispensaries Too Close to Schools

Two Eagle Rock-based medical marijuana dispensaries are among nine marijuana facilities that the City of Los Angeles has sued for violating a state law that requires such facilities to be outside a 600-foot radius of schools.

The ER dispensaries are Organic Healing Center, located at 1733 Colorado Blvd., and Colorado Quality Pain, based at 1615 Colorado Blvd., the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. The former location is a block from the , while the latter is prohibitively close to .

The lawsuits, filed November 15 by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, are part of a renewed drive to tackle what the City says is the relentless and widespread proliferation of medical marijuana facilities in Los Angeles. Eagle Rock has 15 medical marijuana shops, which critics believe is too many for a relatively small neighborhood that also happens to have many schools.

On November 23, Council member José Huizar introduced legislation to repeal the City’s medical marijuana ordinance—which requires marijuana outlets to be outside a 1,000-foot radius of schools—and ban dispensaries whose proliferation, said Huizar, adversely affects the quality of life in communities.

Besides the nine dispensaries that are part of the the City Attorney’s latest crackdown—they face a daily fine up to $5,000 if they remain open—the City has sued about 40 other facilities, a quarter of which have already closed shop, the Times quoted Assistant City Attorney Asha Greenberg as saying.

Further litigation against dispensaries illegally close to schools is likely this coming week. “If we do see more of them cropping up this close to schools, or we become aware of them, then we certainly are going to take action against them,” Greenberg told the Times.

"I'm pleased to see that the city has found a tool to start thinning out the illegal pot shops,” President Michael Larsen told Eagle Rock Patch. “I hope that the trend continues and some reasonable, enforceable regulations can be put in place in L.A.”

Read the Times report in its entirety by clicking here.