Four years ago, when the Los Angeles City Council started to wrestle with how to control medical marijuana, there were just four known storefront dispensaries, one each in Hancock Park, Van Nuys, Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills.

Now, police say there are as many as 600. There may be more. No one really knows.

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That exponential rise came despite a moratorium passed in 2007 that was supposed to prohibit new dispensaries from opening. An exception was made for 186 that were already in business and registered with the city.

"The city of L.A. has failed us on this issue," said Michael Larsen, public safety director with the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. "There's a huge loophole. L.A. city's not watching. L.A. city's not enforcing."

No other city in California has seen such uncontrolled growth in dispensaries. As signs featuring the easily recognized saw-toothed cannabis leaf multiplied on commercial strips, neighborhood activists like Larsen began to ask their council members why the city was not shutting down dispensaries that opened after the moratorium.

Larsen was shocked at the answer. "Nothing controls these," he said.

As many people have fallen victim to the downtown economy, there seems to be a particular enterprise that is booming – at least along Pico Blvd.  It’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.  

Now I’m sure there are those who are genuinely afflicted with an ailment that requires the relief that medical marijuana affords them.  Therefore it would be reasonable to assume, based on national statistics of illnesses that commonly prescribe medical marijuana (AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and chronic pain to name a few), that an area the size of the Pico Neighborhood Council community would have roughly 375 people⁽¹⁾ that would have a genuine need to light up or have a brownie.  It’s also reasonable to assume that this client base can be easily accommodated by 1 or 2 medical marijuana dispensaries.  After all, we have only 1 CVS and 1 Wal-Greens who offer a plethora of drugs to service our community.

Well, folks, we have not 1 but 15 establishments who have setup shop.  This equates to 1 every 2 blocks between Fairfax & LaBrea!  With a moratorium that has been, and continues to be, in place since September 2007, one has to ask, ‘How did this happen?’  Such a small legal client-base couldn’t possibly sustain 15 independent dispensaries.  Hmm.. there must be something else going on.  Clearly they must be profitable since one of the more recent applications was filed by a Beverly Hills CPA firm under a separate Limited Liability Corporation.