LA Shuts Down 439 Medical Marijuana Shops

City down to roughly 135 dispensaries
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2010 12:32 PM CDT
LA Shuts Down 439 Medical Marijuana Shops
The 420 Medical Marijuana Center is seen in the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles on Monday, July 7, 2010.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Yesterday was a bummer of a day for LA's potheads, as the city ordered 439 medical marijuana dispensaries to close. “As of today, they should have their boxes packed and their closed signs up,” Assistant Attorney General Asha Greenberg tells Reuters. The city voted to close the shops five months ago, and plans to shutter more. “We’re trying to achieve some order out of what has essentially been a very chaotic situation,” said Greenberg.

Of the roughly 135 dispensaries still standing, the city would like to close another 65 or so, and restrict the remaining establishments to industrialized areas, far from schools, churches, or parks. They say they’re responding to complaints that the dispensaries are catering to casual users. But the crackdown could be fruitless; in November, Californians will vote on a ballot measure that could legalize recreational use. (More medical marijuana stories.)

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