Pot vote hits economy

Admittedly, it's not a huge deal that several hundred people will be out of a job now that the L.A. City Council is shuttering most of the city's medical marijuana dispensaries. Nor will the loss of a few hundred retail storefronts amount to much when compared with the vast amounts of vacant commercial real estate. Still, we are talking about some jobs and some leased space - not to mention a cash crop that's responsible for revenues of $14 billion a year statewide. Worse than the actual vote was all the time it took up on the council - time that could have been better spent dealing with, say, a $200 million budget deficit (soon to be $400 million). That sure seems more important than throwing a bunch of folks out of business (and let's not even get into the inconvenience this will cause the folks who rely on medical pot to relieve their pain). It's worth noting that the push for stricter rules didn't really take hold until the council was chided by the national press for allowing the dispensaries to keep operating. Anyway, it might not yet be over. From the LAT:

Hundreds of dispensaries have opened in Los Angeles as the City Council debated its proposed ordinance and failed to enforce a moratorium on new dispensaries. City officials believe there are more than 500 that will be required to close under the ordinance, but some are already preparing to sue the city and collect signatures to force a referendum on the ordinance.