Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles

Although medical marijuana dispensaries are legal in the City of Los Angeles, they should not be located within a 1,000 foot buffer of places where children congregate. This includes places such as schools and parks. It is extremely important that these dispensaries are not located within this buffer because children should not be exposed to the distribution of marijuana.

In the map above, the medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles are located. Also, a buffer (in red) has been created around all schools and parks. As you can see, there are some dispensaries that are located in the “red zone” and should be considered to be ineligible in the city. In January of 2010, the City of Los Angeles passed an ordinance to discontinue all dispensaries within the buffer and are currently in the process of shutting those places down.

There are many benefits to shutting down the dispensaries with the “red zone.” Not only will children’s innocence be protected but also they will be protected from many drug related crimes that potentially take place in areas that sell marijuana. The children will be safe and the parents will be happy. However, there are costs to shutting down these dispensaries because this means there will be more business at other locations thus possibly adding to the crime around those areas not in the “red zone.” Also, many families might live in areas that are not within a 1,000 foot buffer of schools and parks and therefore may be located by and eligible marijuana dispensary. This could cause these families to be unsafe in where they life and may cost them to relocated their home. In all, I believe it is a good idea to not allow medical marijuana dispensaries with 1000 feet of schools and parks because children do not need to be around marijuana.

Data and information found at:

http://cityclerk.lacity.org/cps/pdf/preliminaryResults08-25-10.pdf

http://gis.ats.ucla.edu//Mapshare/Default.cfm