"It's proven that being by the beach can actually heal a person and make a person feel good," Cardillo said as he smoked a joint in a hazy, mirrored lounge. "We're trying to create this place where people can heal, and they're looking at it like, oh, it's not really that."
Venice — with dispensaries, pot doctors and bong merchants all a flip-flop stroll from the beach — is the example critics typically cite to highlight the consequences of Los Angeles' failure to control medical marijuana. But there are less-vivid pot hot spots across the city.
Cardillo, a onetime ophthalmic technician, said he adheres to the law and runs his shops as nonprofits. That's why he drives a beat-up Camaro, he said, and not a "for-profit 911 Turbo." Nevertheless, his days of surfside healing may be coming to an end.
More than five years after the City Council began debating controls on medical marijuana dispensaries, Los Angeles Ordinance No. 181069 takes effect Monday. Shaped by the council's conviction that the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries was fueled by a passion for cash and not a compassion for patients, the ordinance seeks to rewind a Wild West-type environment in which 600 dispensaries opened without controls.
The ordinance shuts down more than 400 stores that opened in the last two and a half years. Dispensaries that registered with the city in 2007 will have six months to comply with new location restrictions, which will force many to move to isolated areas.
City prosecutors have declined to spell out how they will enforce the ordinance. "Our next step will be to ascertain the level of compliance," said Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney.
She said her office would rely on reports from police officers, building inspectors and neighbors to identify violators. Offenders face civil penalties of $2,500 a day and six months in jail.
At least 64 dispensaries, including Cardillo's, have sued and asked for court orders to halt enforcement. Stewart Richlin, a lawyer who represents 10 of them, said he expects many across the city to remain open Monday. "The collectives are going to have to make heavy decisions," he said.
Source: Los Angeles Times
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