Restoring Order

Los Angeles’ draft rules for commercial cannabis dispensaries were unveiled by the City Council on June 8. “Proposed Requirements for Commercial Cannabis Activity in the City of Los Angeles” was released by City Council President Herb J. Wesson, Jr. as well as Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield, Paul Koretz and Nury Martinez. The draft rules would dictate which sites would be suitable for commercial cannabis businesses. Officials also released a draft ordinance on operating rules and application requirements.

The City Council is relying on public dialogue to form some sort of compromise between the voices of community members living in Los Angeles. The goal is to clear up the murky confusion surrounding rules and regulations in Los Angeles that has dragged on for several years. The additional draft ordinance, Article 5.2.1, was added to Chapter IV of the Los Angeles Municipal Code.

“With the implementation of Measure M moving along and the release of the draft rules, dispensaries in Los Angeles can finally find some level of respite from the constant nagging worry of raids due to compliance issues.”

“Today marks another important day and step forward in that process, the release of the first draft of the ‘Proposed Requirements for Commercial Cannabis Activity in the City of Los Angeles’ and the beginning of a 60-day public comment period prior to any further action from the city council,” reads the draft regulations. “Furthermore, the Department of City Planning is releasing a draft ordinance which proposes the land use and sensitive use requirements for Commercial Cannabis Activity in the City of Los Angeles as well. That draft ordinance will also be available for a minimum 60-day public comment period prior to any action by the Citywide Planning Commission and the City Council.” The document was signed by Wesson, Jr., as well as Councilmembers Blumenfield, Koretz and Martinez.

The draft rules would limit recreational dispensaries to most of the city’s commercial and industrial areas. Indoor cultivation facilities would be limited to industrial areas as well. An 800-foot cushion would be imposed between dispensaries, as well as an 800-foot buffer between schools, public libraries, parks and drug and alcohol treatment facilities. The zoning rules are designed to keep clusters of dispensaries from forming.

An informative color-coded map is available from Los Angeles City Planning that indicates which areas cannabis businesses would be restricted to under the draft rules. Pink indicates commercial zones that are eligible for businesses and blue indicates industrial zones that are eligible for businesses. Grey circles indicate 800-foot radius buffer zones where dispensaries are prohibited, which black out the majority of areas in the city.

The City Council is currently engaging in a 60-day public comment period to gather input about the proposed regulations from all perspectives. Los Angeles is home to over four million people and is expected to be the largest cannabis market in the United States. Councilmember Blumenfield called the city’s proposed rules a “blueprint” for the rest of the nation. The Southern California Coalition applauded the draft rules, calling them a “positive step.”

With the implementation of Measure M moving along and the release of the draft rules, dispensaries in Los Angeles can finally find some level of respite from the constant nagging worry of raids due to compliance issues.

Measure M passed with a historic 80.5 percent approval rate on March 7. Measure M is meant to address the many problems associated with Proposition D, which only gave 135 of medical cannabis dispensaries immunity from prosecution.