Jacob Bell
New Member
Federal prosecutors in California are ordering dozens of medical marijuana dispensaries to shut down in 45 days and warning owners and landlords they face criminal charges or seizure of their assets, including property, if they do not comply.
The state's four U.S. attorneys announced at a Sacramento news conference Friday that they have stepped up efforts to curtail both marijuana cultivation and retail sales of pot conducted under California's 15-year-old medical marijuana law.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, who represents California's Central Valley, said not all of the thousands of storefront pot dispensaries operating in the state are being targeted.
Instead, federal officials are initially going after pot shops located close to schools, parks, sports fields and other places where there are a lot of children and what Wagner termed "significant commercial operations." He said that includes farmland where marijuana is being grown.
The United State Attorney's Office released a press release detailing their enforcement plans for commercial marijuana operations in the Southland. Specific targets include a South Orange County building that the U.S. Attorney's Office says houses eight marijuana stores, as well as a trafficking ring that sold marijuana at a San Fernando Valley storefront and allegedly sent marijuana to customers as far away as New York.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced warning letters being sent to the operators and landlords of 38 marijuana stores, civil forfeiture lawsuits being filed against three properties and a seizure of over $135,000 from one owner's bank account and an indictment charging six people with marijuana trafficking that generated $15 million in profits over eight months.
The warning letters tell the stores that they are in violation of federal law and that they have two weeks to discontinue selling or distributing marijuana through their stores. The letters are being sent to stores in Orange County, Riverside County and the Inland Empire. According to the press release, "The areas in which the initial warnings have been sent are all areas where local officials have taken steps to eliminate marijuana stores and have asked the federal government for assistance."
The six being indicted worked for a now-defunct North Hollywood marijuana store, NoHo Caregivers. They allegedly sold marijuana at their store, sold marijuana to other stores and sent marijuana to affiliates in New York and Pennsylvania. They allegedly distributed between 600 and 700 pounds of marijuana per month, accruing to the indictment.
The indictment says that the defendants used encrypted BlackBerry devices, but investigators intercepted email communications detailing the store's distribution and payments for the marijuana. One email exchange between the two lead defendants included them discussing "the amounts of marijuana they intended to distribute monthly over the coming year and estimated that they would each receive over $194,000 in profits per month."
"For-profit, commercial marijuana operations are illegal not only under federal law, but also under California law," said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. "While California law permits collective cultivation of marijuana in limited circumstances, it does not allow commercial distribution through the storefront model we see across California."
Earlier:
The four U.S. attorneys in California, the first state to pass a law legalizing marijuana use for patients with doctors' recommendations, held a joint news conference Friday to "outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana."
A joint conference like this by U.S. attorneys is highly unusual, according to reporter Michael Montgomery of the California Report, who spoke with KPCC's Madeleine Brand. The U.S. attorneys have not previously spoken with a single voice like this, Montgomery says.
Their offices refused to provide details in advance what moves the officials are taking or how many of the state's hundreds of storefront pot shops would be affected.
Montgomery says that between 20 and 30 shops or their landlords received letters this week warning they would face criminal charges and confiscation of their property if the dispensaries do not shut down in 45 days. Montgomery said that there may be a flood of letters sent to property owners around the state next week. It remains to be seen whether only a few will be targeted, or if letters will be sent to dispensaries around the state. A new potential threshold is dispensaries that sell more than 400 pounds per year, according to Montgomery, which would include a lot of dispensaries.
The U.S. attorneys sent a letter earlier this year to law enforcement saying that enforcing marijuana laws related to both growing plants and distribution had become a problem, according to Montgomery.
Particularly in the Central Valley, it's been difficult for officials to prosecute as it's been hard to prove whether those growing the plants are doing so legally or not. As many as a million plants are being grown in the open in California, Montgomery says. Law enforcement have to prove that it's not going to legitimate dispensaries; however, there's a much lower threshold of proof to seize property.
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."
Obama initially promised a different tact than his predecessor when elected, as did Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder. The 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.
Greg Anton, a lawyer who represents dispensary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said its landlord received an "extremely threatening" letter Wednesday invoking a federal law that imposes additional penalties for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds.
The landlord was ordered to evict the 14-year-old pot club or risk imprisonment, plus forfeiture of the property and all the rent he has collected while the dispensary has been in business, Anton said.
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."
The idea of civil forfeiture is new for the U.S. attorneys, though, going after the property belonging to those leasing land to growers, according to Montgomery. He says that the U.S. Attorney's Office presents a more significant and serious challenge to medical marijuana in California than the DEA due to their enforcement powers.
While California's medical marijuana dispensaries face renewed opposition from the federal government, federal and local officials aren't planning on going after those who've been prescribed marijuana, Montgomery said.
The San Diego medical marijuana outlets put on notice were the same dozen that city officials sued last month for operating illegally, after activists there threatened to force an election on a zoning plan adopted to regulate the city's fast-growing medical marijuana industry, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said. A judge on Wednesday ordered nine of the targeted shops to close, while the other three shut down voluntarily, Goldsmith said.
One question is whether the federal government will pursue more mainstream dispensaries, such as the Harborside dispensary in Oakland, while they've previously only gone after outlier dispensaries that would likely have also been in violation of state as well as federal law, Montgomery said. California's large marijuana economy includes large dispensaries that cater more to recreational users than to serious cancer patients, Montgomery said.
Duffy, the U.S. attorney for far Southern California, planned to issue warning letters to property owners and all of the 180 or so dispensaries that have proliferated in San Diego in the absence of compromise regulations, according to Goldsmith.
"The real power is with the federal government," he said. "They have the asset forfeiture, and that means either the federal government will own a lot of property or these landlords will evict a lot of dispensaries."
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: scpr.org
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Southern California Public Radio
Website: US attorneys announce California pot dispensary crackdown
The state's four U.S. attorneys announced at a Sacramento news conference Friday that they have stepped up efforts to curtail both marijuana cultivation and retail sales of pot conducted under California's 15-year-old medical marijuana law.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, who represents California's Central Valley, said not all of the thousands of storefront pot dispensaries operating in the state are being targeted.
Instead, federal officials are initially going after pot shops located close to schools, parks, sports fields and other places where there are a lot of children and what Wagner termed "significant commercial operations." He said that includes farmland where marijuana is being grown.
The United State Attorney's Office released a press release detailing their enforcement plans for commercial marijuana operations in the Southland. Specific targets include a South Orange County building that the U.S. Attorney's Office says houses eight marijuana stores, as well as a trafficking ring that sold marijuana at a San Fernando Valley storefront and allegedly sent marijuana to customers as far away as New York.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced warning letters being sent to the operators and landlords of 38 marijuana stores, civil forfeiture lawsuits being filed against three properties and a seizure of over $135,000 from one owner's bank account and an indictment charging six people with marijuana trafficking that generated $15 million in profits over eight months.
The warning letters tell the stores that they are in violation of federal law and that they have two weeks to discontinue selling or distributing marijuana through their stores. The letters are being sent to stores in Orange County, Riverside County and the Inland Empire. According to the press release, "The areas in which the initial warnings have been sent are all areas where local officials have taken steps to eliminate marijuana stores and have asked the federal government for assistance."
The six being indicted worked for a now-defunct North Hollywood marijuana store, NoHo Caregivers. They allegedly sold marijuana at their store, sold marijuana to other stores and sent marijuana to affiliates in New York and Pennsylvania. They allegedly distributed between 600 and 700 pounds of marijuana per month, accruing to the indictment.
The indictment says that the defendants used encrypted BlackBerry devices, but investigators intercepted email communications detailing the store's distribution and payments for the marijuana. One email exchange between the two lead defendants included them discussing "the amounts of marijuana they intended to distribute monthly over the coming year and estimated that they would each receive over $194,000 in profits per month."
"For-profit, commercial marijuana operations are illegal not only under federal law, but also under California law," said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. "While California law permits collective cultivation of marijuana in limited circumstances, it does not allow commercial distribution through the storefront model we see across California."
Earlier:
The four U.S. attorneys in California, the first state to pass a law legalizing marijuana use for patients with doctors' recommendations, held a joint news conference Friday to "outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana."
A joint conference like this by U.S. attorneys is highly unusual, according to reporter Michael Montgomery of the California Report, who spoke with KPCC's Madeleine Brand. The U.S. attorneys have not previously spoken with a single voice like this, Montgomery says.
Their offices refused to provide details in advance what moves the officials are taking or how many of the state's hundreds of storefront pot shops would be affected.
Montgomery says that between 20 and 30 shops or their landlords received letters this week warning they would face criminal charges and confiscation of their property if the dispensaries do not shut down in 45 days. Montgomery said that there may be a flood of letters sent to property owners around the state next week. It remains to be seen whether only a few will be targeted, or if letters will be sent to dispensaries around the state. A new potential threshold is dispensaries that sell more than 400 pounds per year, according to Montgomery, which would include a lot of dispensaries.
The U.S. attorneys sent a letter earlier this year to law enforcement saying that enforcing marijuana laws related to both growing plants and distribution had become a problem, according to Montgomery.
Particularly in the Central Valley, it's been difficult for officials to prosecute as it's been hard to prove whether those growing the plants are doing so legally or not. As many as a million plants are being grown in the open in California, Montgomery says. Law enforcement have to prove that it's not going to legitimate dispensaries; however, there's a much lower threshold of proof to seize property.
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."
Obama initially promised a different tact than his predecessor when elected, as did Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder. The 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.
Greg Anton, a lawyer who represents dispensary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said its landlord received an "extremely threatening" letter Wednesday invoking a federal law that imposes additional penalties for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds.
The landlord was ordered to evict the 14-year-old pot club or risk imprisonment, plus forfeiture of the property and all the rent he has collected while the dispensary has been in business, Anton said.
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."
The idea of civil forfeiture is new for the U.S. attorneys, though, going after the property belonging to those leasing land to growers, according to Montgomery. He says that the U.S. Attorney's Office presents a more significant and serious challenge to medical marijuana in California than the DEA due to their enforcement powers.
While California's medical marijuana dispensaries face renewed opposition from the federal government, federal and local officials aren't planning on going after those who've been prescribed marijuana, Montgomery said.
The San Diego medical marijuana outlets put on notice were the same dozen that city officials sued last month for operating illegally, after activists there threatened to force an election on a zoning plan adopted to regulate the city's fast-growing medical marijuana industry, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said. A judge on Wednesday ordered nine of the targeted shops to close, while the other three shut down voluntarily, Goldsmith said.
One question is whether the federal government will pursue more mainstream dispensaries, such as the Harborside dispensary in Oakland, while they've previously only gone after outlier dispensaries that would likely have also been in violation of state as well as federal law, Montgomery said. California's large marijuana economy includes large dispensaries that cater more to recreational users than to serious cancer patients, Montgomery said.
Duffy, the U.S. attorney for far Southern California, planned to issue warning letters to property owners and all of the 180 or so dispensaries that have proliferated in San Diego in the absence of compromise regulations, according to Goldsmith.
"The real power is with the federal government," he said. "They have the asset forfeiture, and that means either the federal government will own a lot of property or these landlords will evict a lot of dispensaries."
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: scpr.org
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Southern California Public Radio
Website: US attorneys announce California pot dispensary crackdown
