Visualizing the Debate Over Marijuana Dispensaries

Los Angeles is currently debating the location of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, attempting to strike a balance between access and control, and one requirement up for debate is that they should be 1000 feet away from residential uses.  But what does that look like?  BlogDownTown whipped up a quick map to find out.

The maps above show 1,000, 500 and 200 foot buffers around residential uses Downtown. They are not an exact visualization of where dispensaries could be located — they don’t include buffers around substance abuse center and may not include all residential hotels — but they’re more than the City Council has to work with.

The City’s planning department is working on creating maps of the ordinance’s effects, but they won’t be ready until January.

via Visualizing the Debate Over Marijuana Dispensary Locations :: blogdowntown.

This story written by Randall Hand

Randall Hand is a visualization scientist working for a federal research lab, aiding researchers to discover the insights buried within their terabyte datasets generated on some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. He also runs VizWorld.com .