L.A. pot dispensaries: How many?

For a moment two years ago, Los Angeles officials thought they knew how many marijuana dispensaries the city had: 186. That's how many registered to operate under the city's moratorium. The city quickly lost control, and the number soared: 500, 600, 800, now perhaps 1,000.

On Tuesday, the City Council will grapple with a question it has barely debated since the number started to rise: How many is too many?

Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes Eagle Rock, one of the first neighborhoods to recoil from the influx of dispensaries, has suggested a cap of 70. The proposal is one of more than three dozen amendments the council will weigh when it resumes debate on its proposed medical marijuana ordinance.

"Since this is a new frontier for the city to engage in, we want to make sure that we can do everything that's possible to monitor them," Huizar said. "We've got to take this in incremental steps, and I'd rather start with a low number."

The city attorney and L.A. County district attorney vigorously oppose the sale of medical marijuana at dispensaries, saying it violates state law, and have asked the council to ban it. But council members appear inclined to disregard their advice.

Cities have limited the number of dispensaries in two ways. The most common is to require them to be a certain distance from places that children frequent, such as schools and libraries. That's the approach in the proposed city ordinance. Less common, but gaining in popularity, is a cap on the number of shops.

Officials in cities with caps -- including Oakland, Berkeley, West Hollywood and Sebastopol -- say caps allow them to select responsible operators, keep a close eye on them and shut them down more easily if they become a nuisance.