Connecticut recently became the 17th state in the U.S. to legalize medical marijuana and most experts have been predicting that's a trend likely to continue across the nation.
Los Angeles would seem to run counter to that whole idea. The LA city council just voted unanimously to shut down the more than 760 medical pot dispensaries in that sprawling municipality.
But it may be that LA's problems have more to do with California's free-wheeling medical pot law than with medical marijuana itself.
City officials complained the pot dispensaries were mostly just fronts for marijuana sales to healthy young folks rather than the sick and disabled.
Connecticut's law was written to avoid exactly that kind of California scenario. Officials here insist that strict regulations and monitoring will prevent the kinds of abuses that have triggered a wave of federal crackdowns on pot dispensaries in West Coast states.
Officials in this state estimate that it will take about a year to get Connecticut's system up and running, with up to 10 growing facilities and a network of participating pharmacies to distribute the medical pot.
