Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant ruled today that the Los Angeles City Council's two-year-plus long moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries is illegal, and granted a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of the ban, reports the L.A. Times.

The ruling is one more set back for the city council, led by president Eric Garcetti, in controlling the proliferation of pots shops in L.A.

While the moratorium was supposed to stop the rush of dispensary openings, quite the opposite has happened.

Experts estimate that between 800 and 1,000 pot shops have opened in Los Angeles since the moratorium was established in August, 2007.

During that time, the L.A. City Council has been unable to pass an actual ordinance for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

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