With new rules, L.A. opens doors to recreational pot

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is in line to become the nation’s largest city with legal recreational marijuana after the City Council voted Wednesday to license sales and cultivation next year.

The landmark vote came after a hearing in which council members characterized the rules as a work in progress almost certain to see revisions after California launches its recreational pot industry in January.

City Council President Herb Wesson’s office said the city rules would take effect immediately after the signature of Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“The other cities in this nation, they are looking to L.A.,” said Wesson.

Under the Los Angeles regulations, residential neighborhoods would be largely off-limits to pot businesses, and buffer zones would be set up around schools, libraries and parks.

However, with the new year just weeks away — and the holidays coming — industry experts say it’s not clear how many businesses, if any, will be ready to open their doors on Jan. 1.

If demand is not satisfied in the legal market then “you are just giving oxygen to the black market we all want to eradicate,” said Adam Spiker, executive director of the Southern California Coalition, a cannabis industry group.

Medical marijuana has been legal in the state for two decades. The regulations passed Wednesday dictate where pot can be grown and sold.

Businesses that want to participate in the marketplace need local permits before they can apply for state licenses required to operate in 2018.