LA Cracks Down on Marijuana Shops

Los Angeles’ city attorney obtained an injunction against a real estate business that brokered a deal for a medical marijuana dispensary, and said he would step up enforcement against people and businesses that violate the city’s Proposition D.

City Attorney Mike Feuer on Thursday said the injunction applies to the real estate broker of a proposed Mar Vista pot shop, a real estate salesperson, operator and property owner of the west Los Angeles site.

Feuer said he wants the injunction to send a message to real estate agents to steer clear of operators who try to open dispensaries in violation of Proposition D.

City voters approved Prop. D in May 2013. It taxes, regulates and limits medical marijuana shops in the city to 135 outlets.

The dispensary at issue would have opened at a site previously occupied by Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Markets, surrounded on three sides by home and apartments. Prop. D bars pot shops from operating near homes, parks or schools.

“We will use every tool available to us to enforce Proposition D and uphold the will of the voters,” Feuer said in a statement.

After District 11 Councilman Mike Bonin and Mar Vista residents objected to the proposed pot shop, Feuer filed a lawsuit in November.

City prosecutors have filed 68 criminal cases against medical marijuana business operators and property owners, Feuer’s office said.

Superior Court Judge James Chalfant issued the injunctions Thursday.

Article republished from Courthouse News