Panel backs moratorium on new pot dispensaries

A moratorium of up to one year on new medical marijuana dispensaries was endorsed Tuesday by a City Council committee, but the panel wants to see an ordinance drafted before sending it to the full council for consideration.

The council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee asked the city attorney’s office to draft an interim control ordinance providing two six-month periods during which new dispensaries would be prohibited from opening.

Dozens of dispensaries have opened in L.A. since a state ballot measure and subsequent legislation were approved allowing the medical use of marijuana.