L.A. Releases Draft Rules for Marijuana

The City of Los Angeles released draft rules for its marijuana businesses Thursday, laying the groundwork for how and where marijuana will be sold. The proposal comes seven months after California voters approved Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana, and three months after L.A. passed Measure M, allowing the city council to lift the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries and impose a new set of licensing rules.

You can read the full draft ordinance here. Its provisions include:

• Limiting pot shops to most commercial and industrial zones
• Barring pot shops from operating within 800 feet of each other or within 800 feet of schools, parks, libraries, and substance abuse treatment facilities
• Requiring a good faith effort on the part of business license applicants to have 1/3 of work performed by L.A. residents
• A ban on volatile manufacturing -- a potentially dangerous form of manufacturing for concentrates like “wax” and “shatter”

Just before the city released its draft proposal, its city attorney also unveiled a map, showing all of the city’s marijuana businesses, including those facing criminal charges for operating illegally.