See also:

*Where to Buy Marijuana in Los Angeles After Dispensary Ban Takes Effect.

Letters telling marijuana dispensary operators in Los Angeles that they must shut their doors by Sept. 6 were mailed yesterday and provided to the media today.

Frank Mateljan, spokesman for the L.A. City Attorney's office, told the Weekly that the documents went out to a whopping 1,774 targets, though some of those might involve duplicate locations where both owners and landlords were addressed.

The office counts this many dispensaries in L.A. today:

1,046.

That's nearly double the 550 or so counted by the Weekly a few years back, when the city was under pressure to regulate the shops and ended up trying to shut down most of them, only to see them balloon to a, shall we say, new high.

The letter tells owners and landlords that if they don't ensure the dispensaries closed down they could be on the hook for “$2,500 a day, as well as prosecution for a misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a $1,000.00 fine.”

However, Mateljan says:

This letter is intended to provide courtesy notice of the new ordinance recently passed by the City Council and signed by the Mayor. The letter expressly advises business and property owners to consult with their attorneys and it is not part of any enforcement scheme.

Here's the document:

2012-08-14 MM Business Ban Letter

See also:

*Marijuana Dispensaries Will Stay Open Despite L.A. Ban, Some Say.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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