Los Angeles' proposed medical marijuana ordinance, which would outlaw the sale of pot at dispensaries, would cost the city $36 million to $74 million in lost sales taxes, a marijuana advocacy group asserted Sunday.

Under the proposed ordinance, only nonprofit medical marijuana collectives -- groups of qualified patients and their primary caregivers -- would be allowed to cultivate the drug to relieve pain from serious illnesses.

According to the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the proposed ordinance would "effectively shut down the city's medical marijuana distribution system by banning all sales of marijuana and sharply curtailing collectives' ability to grow and obtain medicine.''

"Los Angeles would be foolish to pass this unworkable, ill-conceived ordinance," said California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer. "Not only would it cost $36 to $74 million in lost sales taxes and thousands of jobs, but the city can expect serious legal challenges in the courts. The city would be better advised to adopt a system of licensed regulation and taxes, which has proven successful elsewhere in the state."

Other cities and counties that regulate dispensaries allow them to sell to their members as nonprofit collectives so long as they pay sales taxes, according to NORML, which estimates there are currently 100,000 to 200,000 medical marijuana patients in the Los Angeles area, generating $400 to $800 million annually in retail sales, including $36 to $72 million a year in sales taxes.

Cities with what NORML describes as "successful dispensary regulations,'' such as Oakland, San Francisco and West Hollywood, are currently collecting millions in taxes and license fees from dispensaries, the group noted.

A survey of California dispensaries by California NORML found they pay an average of $82,000 a year in sales taxes.

In addition, Cal NORML's survey found that the average dispensary has 7.4 employees, so closing 900 dispensaries would cost Los Angeles some 6,500 paying jobs.

No other city or county in California has regulated collectives while banning sales, according to NORML.

Under the proposed ordinance, over-the-counter sales of the drug would be outlawed, and the collectives would have to be at least 1,000 feet from other collectives, schools, playgrounds, child care facilities, religious institutions, public libraries, public parks, hospitals and rehab centers.

The usual committee hearing process is being bypassed so the city council could vote on the measure as soon as Nov. 3.

There are an estimated 800 to 1,000 pot dispensaries throughout the county, and a judge recently ruled the city's temporary ordinance banning new medical marijuana dispensaries was invalid.

According to NORML, the proposed ordinance would further make the distribution of medical marijuana unviable in Los Angeles by limiting collectives to a single garden of 100 plants, limiting collectives to serving a handful of members and requiring tens of thousands of collectives and growing operations throughout the city.

Nothing in state law authorizes such limitations, according to NORML, and most collectives serve hundreds or thousands of members and draw from many gardens.

NORML also objects to a provision in the ordinance that would ban cannabis extracts and edibles, which enable users to ingest the drug without smoking it.

Opponents say turning marijuana into food and drinks encourage its use by children.

A recent poll by Mason-Dixon found that 77 percent of Angelenos favor regulated dispensaries.

Patient advocates are expected to sue if the proposed ordinance is passed, on the grounds that it would unconstitutionally limit patients' right to collectively cultivate and obtain medicine, as guaranteed under Proposition 215 and Senate Bill 420.