A police crackdown on local
unlicensed marijuana businesses has ended with misdemeanor charges against more
than 500 people in Los Angeles, the city attorney’s office said.
In 120
criminal cases filed since May, City Atty. Mike Feuer has charged 515 people in
connection with 105 illegal marijuana businesses, grow sites, extraction labs
and delivery companies located throughout the city, his office announced
Friday.
All of the defendants were
charged with unlicensed commercial cannabis activity within the city, which
carries a potential sentence of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. Local
judges have been hearing the cases since May with arraignments scheduled
through the end of October, Feuer’s office said.
Though the number of defendants is staggering and will make a dent in unlicensed operations in the city, the larger aim of the crackdown is to try to level the playing field for the marijuana businesses that are following the rules, Feuer said.
