An unintended consequence of L.A.’s medical marijuana rules

A 2007 moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles has turned them, into, ahem, a growth industry.

The moratorium includes a standard provision that allows dispensaries to appeal to the City Council for a hardship exemption to be allowed to operate. Some time last year, medical marijuana entrepreneurs discovered that the city attorney’s office was not prosecuting dispensaries that had filed hardship applications, saying the City Council needed to rule on them first. The council has not acted on any of the applications.

So far, 508 dispensaries have applied for exemptions.

It was months before anyone at City Hall realized what was happening….

[Councilman Ed] Reyes said he became aware that the pending exemption applications were creating a loophole about three months ago.

A DIY googlemaps mashup, put together by someone named Joe, sprouts a huge set of blue arrows indicating where to find cannabis clubs in Los Angeles (can be slow to load). Maybe they’ll thin out soon — read more about how the City Council is trying to figure out how to close the loophole that’s allowed them to flourish.

– Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Buds of dried marijuana at a dispensary. Credit: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times