Northbay Uprising - Information for the liberated zones of the San Pablo Bay

2011-10-07 “Feds look to close California's many legal dispensaries of medical pot” by Lisa Leff from "Associated Press" newswire, and "Vallejo Times-Herald" newspaper staff writer Jessica A. York
[http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_19061493]
SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state's 15-year-old medical marijuana law.
In an escalation of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. government and the nation's burgeoning medical marijuana industry, at least 16 pot shops or their landlords received letters this week stating they are violating federal drug laws, even though medical marijuana is legal in California. None are in Vallejo. The state's four U.S. attorneys were scheduled to announce a broader coordinated crackdown today.
Their offices refused Thursday to confirm the closure orders. The Associated Press obtained copies of the letters that a prosecutor sent to at least 12 San Diego dispensaries. They state that federal law "takes precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana."
"Under United States law, a dispensary's operations involving sales and distribution of marijuana are illegal and subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions," according to the letters signed by U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in San Diego. "Real and personal property involved in such operations are subject to seizure by and forfeiture to the United States ... regardless of the purported purpose of the dispensary."
The federal crackdown comes in near unison with similar measures taken by Vallejo city officials last week.
Vallejo officials sent letters to at 17 local dispensary landlords, informing them that the dispensaries were potentially operating illegally in the city. The city of Vallejo, unlike the federal government, is relying on the city's zoning code -- which neither prohibits nor allows dispensaries -- to remove the businesses.
Vallejo dispensary founder Matt Shotwell of the downtown Greenwell Cooperative supported Vallejo's efforts, saying "something needs to be done" about the city's unregulated dispensary proliferation.
"I just hope that at the end of the day, they find ... the way I do things acceptable to them and they let me stay," Shotwell said last week. "They need to do what they need to do and if that involves contacting the landlord and holding them accountable, then I'm all for it."
Shotwell could not be reached for comment on the federal government's similar move this week.
Vallejo's efforts come in conjunction with the hiring of a consultant tapped to help the city draft operational and permit regulations to allow a limited number of dispensaries. Vallejo Assistant City Manager Craig Whittom said Thursday that the city is watching the U.S. attorneys' moves, and may need to re-evaluate its own regulations.
On Vallejo's Nov. 8 ballot is also a proposed sales tax measure that could charge Vallejo dispensaries for up to 10 percent of their sales.
The federal prosecutors' move comes a little more than two months after the Obama administration toughened its stand on medical marijuana. For two years before that, federal officials had indicated they would not move aggressively against dispensaries in compliance with laws in the 16 states where pot is legal for people with doctors' recommendations.
The Department of Justice issued a policy memo to federal prosecutors in late June stating that marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws. The effort to shutter California dispensaries appeared to be the most far-reaching effort so far to put that guidance into action.
"This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The administration is simply making good on multiple threats issued since President Obama took office," said Kevin Sabet, a former adviser to the president's drug czar and a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Substance Abuse Solutions. "The challenge is to balance the scarcity of law enforcement resources and the sanctity of this country's medication approval process. It seems like the administration is simply making good on multiple statements made previously to appropriately strike that balance."
Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, said the warnings are part of what appears to be an attempt by the Obama administration to curb medical marijuana on multiple fronts and through multiple agencies. A series of dispensary raids in Montana, for example, involved agents from not only the FBI and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, but the Internal Revenue Service and Environmental Protection Agency.
Going after property owners is not a new tactic though, Hermes said. Five years ago, the Department of Justice under President George W. Bush made similar threats to about 300 Los Angeles-area landlords who were renting space to medical marijuana outlets, some of whom were eventually evicted or closed their doors voluntarily, he said.
"It did have an impact. However, the federal government never acted on its threats, never prosecuted anybody, never even went to court to begin prosecutions," Hermes said. "By and large, they were empty threats, but they relied on them and the cost of postage to shut down as many facilities as they could without having to engage in criminal enforcement activity."
Besides the dozen dispensaries in San Diego and the one in Marin County, at least three shops in San Francisco already have received closure notices, said Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.