City attorney sues medical marijuana dispensaries

The city plans to ask a judge for injunctions to bar the pot shops from storing, selling, distributing or giving away marijuana. It could also seek fines of up to $2,500 a day, as well as a $25,000 fine for violating state narcotics laws. The lawsuits, which name the store and building owners, also aim to force the landlords to oust their tenants.

“The city of Los Angeles is sending a clear message that we will no longer allow property owners to turn a blind eye to illegal activity,” City Atty. Carmen Trutanich said in a statement.

Trutanich’s office is battling numerous lawsuits filed by dispensaries seeking to remain open. Some dispensaries are now trying to overturn the city’s revamped medical marijuana ordinance, which would cap the number of stores at 100 and allow only those that were in business on Sept. 14, 2007, when the city passed a moratorium to make it illegal to open new stores.

The dispensaries targeted by the city are: Cancare Collective, 11120 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood; Golden Triangle Collective, 2626 S. Figueroa Blvd., University Park; Green Oasis, 11924 Jefferson Blvd., Playa Vista; Natural Ways Always, 10006½ National Blvd., Palms; Rainforest Collective, 12515 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista; The Spot, 3200 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood Hills; and Helping Hint, 13614-16 Victory Blvd., Valley Glen.

-- John Hoeffel