Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz, 5th District, and Curren Price, 9th District, introduced a motion on May 4 calling on the city attorney to draft an ordinance to implement the county of Los Angeles’ Emblem Program for Authorized Cannabis Stores. The program issues an emblem placard to licensed commercial cannabis businesses that will serve as notice to the public and enforcement agencies that the business is licensed, has been inspected by the L.A. County Department of Public Health and is in compliance with all applicable public health laws and regulations.
The program is intended to protect consumers from the detrimental effects created by the sale of untested and unregulated cannabis products by unlicensed cannabis businesses. The program would allow licensed retail businesses to apply for an emblem, obtain the requisite inspection and place the emblem on the premises so that it is visible to the public from the exterior of the store, as well as provide and make health-related information accessible to consumers. It also would help law enforcement agencies in enforcing city cannabis laws.
“Unfortunately, unlicensed commercial cannabis activity continues to undermine the legal commercial cannabis industry and threaten the health and safety of Los Angeles residents,” Koretz said. “I have been working on getting this emblem program designed and implemented for the past few years because consumers have a difficult time discerning legal and illegal businesses by appearance and may be unknowingly doing business with unlicensed operators, many of which sell unregulated products that are tainted, contaminated or mislabeled, and could cause serious illness if consumed.”
“The adoption of our program by the largest city in the county will ensure that the many in our community, both cannabis employees and consumers, are afforded the maximum safety measures prescribed by our Public Health inspection process,” Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said.
If the new ordinance is approved, the emblem program would launch later this year.
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