Another Pot Shop Defies City and Opens Up

The location in Valley Glen was once , a business that specialized in making corporate promotional items. Now, with the blue awning changed to black and green, a fresh coat of paint and a tongue-in-cheek name, Wellgreens at 12439 Victory Blvd. has become the latest pot shop to .

Earlier this year the council passed an ordinance that called for a lottery that would allow only 100 dispensaries to remain open, along with a ban on any new shops opening up. The ordinance also called for all dispensaries that did not register for the lottery to close.

So far, the lottery has not been scheduled, multiple pot shops are suing the city over the ordinance, only a handful of shops have been closed, and .

Locally, in the area patrolled by the LAPD's North Hollywood Division, three shops have been shut down by the city since the ordinance was passed. Starbudz in the NoHo Arts District, which had not registered for the lottery, was raided by the police in July for "narcotics violations" and shut down. In May, the city, including The Spot in the Cahuenga Pass and Cancare Collective on Burbank Boulevard. The two local shops were facing huge fines and decided to close within a month of the lawsuit being filed.

But the vast majority of shops in the North Hollywood area, including ones that did not register for the lottery, have remained open.

The three shops that after the ban also remain open.

Check these other Patch stories to get up to speed on the L.A. battle over medical marijuana: