Recreational marijuana will be legal in California on Jan. 1.
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council voted to license the sale of recreational marijuana on Wednesday. Debates on proposed regulations went on for several months prior to Wednesday’s vote, but the city council approved regulations for commercial cultivation and sales to begin on Jan. 1.
New regulations will bar any marijuana businesses from setting up in residential neighborhoods. Zoning will also restrict businesses from being set up close to libraries, schools and parks.
The office of City Council President Herb Wesson said that the new regulations will be in effect as soon as Mayor Eric Garcetti signs the legislation. Wesson believes that other cities will use Los Angeles as a model for their own regulations, saying “The other cities in this nation, they are looking to L.A.,” he said.
The City Council voted unanimously on the rules, voting 12 to 0 for the new regulations. The new regulations also aim to decriminalize people who want to open a cannabis business who had previously been jailed for weed. Those convicted of serious or violent crimes will be barred from obtaining a permit to sell or cultivate marijuana.
Current limits on pot shops restrict businesses from operating within 700 feet of schools, libraries and parks. The city can issue no more than 390 permits for dispensaries and 336 for cultivators. The city used zoning and population ratios to ensure that pot shops aren’t all lumped into minority or poor communities.
Medical marijuana businesses that are already operating and are compliant with current regulations will be given priority for recreational permits. Officials said that the new regulations are a guideline and will likely be revised next year once recreational marijuana is implemented.
Recreational marijuana will be legal in California on Jan. 1.
Niko Mann is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles, California.
