Judge denies bid to stop closure of shops

June 6, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Hundreds of medical-marijuana dispensaries must close by Monday or face possible civil fines or criminal charges because they don’t comply with a new ordinance in Los Angeles.

Last-minute legal challenges from pot-shop owners and patients seeking temporary restraining orders were denied Friday by Superior Court Judge James Chalfant, paving the way for officials to enforce the long-awaited law that will slash the number of dispensaries to somewhere between 70 and 130.

It remains to be seen whether dispensary owners will comply.

Last month, the city attorney’s office mailed more than 430 letters to pot collectives, saying the operations must close by June 7.

So far, the agency has not received any calls from owners indicating they plan on shutting down. The only calls have come from landlords indicating businesses have closed or will no longer be open come Monday.

“We definitely get the sense they don’t want to go away,” Assistant City Attorney Asha Greenberg said of the dispensaries. “They are engaging in a lucrative business. Who is going to want to walk away from that without a fight?”

Judge Chalfant rejected requests to stop the ordinance from going into effect, but there were still unresolved issues from a host of lawsuits, including whether it’s discriminatory to allow some dispensaries to stay open while shuttering others.