A Collection of Letters from the Feds Telling Government Officials Feds will Prosecute People Involved in State Legal Medical Marijuana

The following is a summary of a collection of letters from U.S. Attorneys for the states of California, Arizona, Hawaii, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine sent to Governors, state legislators and state attorney generals.  The letters all have the same theme, i.e., the U.S. will prosecute people involved in the growing and sale of medical marijuana on a large scale, including property owners who allow their land to be used for growing or medical marijuana dispensaries and government workers or officials who facilitate the medical marijuana industry.

• February 1, 2011, letter from Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, to the Oakland City Attorney.  “The Department is concerned about the Oakland Ordinance’s creation of a licensing scheme that permits large-scale industrial marijuana cultivation and manufacturing as it authorizes conduct contrary to federal law and threatens the federal government’s efforts to regulate the possession, manufacturing, and trafficking of controlled substances. Accordingly, the Department is carefully considering civil and criminal legal remedies regarding those who seek to set up industrial marijuana growing warehouses in Oakland pursuant to licenses issued by the City of Oakland. Individuals who elect to operate “industrial cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facilities” will be doing so in violation of federal law. Others who knowingly facilitate the actions of the licensees, including property owners, landlords, and financiers should also know that their conduct violates federal law. Potential actions the Department is considering include injunctive actions to prevent cultivation and distribution of marijuana and other associated violations of the CSA; civil fines; criminal prosecution; and the forfeiture of any property used to facilitate a violation of the CSA. As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated, the Department of Justice remains firmly committed to enforcing the CSA in all states.”

• March 23, 2011, letter from Dennis Burke, U.S. Attorney for Arizona, to Arizona Tribal Leaders.  “we will evaluate every case submitted from Indian Country involving marijuana on a case-by-case basis, and where sufficient evidence is developed taking the matter out of “clear and unambiguous compliance” with the state scheme, we will consider prosecution. . . . Our District policy remains one of “zero tolerance” for illegal distribution or other trafficking of any controlled substance–including marijuana–in Indian Country, no matter what the quantity.”

• April 11, 2011, letter from Florence T. Nakakuni, U.S. Attorney for Hawaii to Jodie F. Maesaka-Hirata, Director of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety.  The U.S. Attorney responds to a request from the DPS about what the federal government would do if Hawaii state law allowed medical marijuana dispensaries.  The following text is from the letter:  “As a way of emphasizing the foregoing, the CSA’s penalties for felony marijuana offenses (manufacture, distribution, possession with intent to distribute) should be considered: – 1,000 or more marijuana plants, or 1,000 kilograms: 10 years – life imprisonment; – 100 or more marijuana plants, or 100 kilograms: 5 – 40 years imprisonment; – so marijuana plants or more, or more than so kilograms: up to 20 years imprisonment; and – Less than 50 marijuana plants, or less than 50 kilograms: up to 5 years imprisonment. . . . This includes, but is not limited to, actions to enforce the criminal provisions of the CSA such as: – 21 U.S.C. § 841 (making it illegal to manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute any controlled substance including marijuana); – 21 U.S.C. § 856 (making it unlawful to knowingly open, lease, rent, maintain, or use property for the manufacturing, storing, or distribution of controlled substances); – 21 U.S.C. § 860 (making it unlawful to distribute or manufacture controlled substances within 1,000 feet of schools, colleges, playgrounds, and public housing facilities, and within 100 feet of any youth centers, public swimming pools, and video arcade facilities); – 21 U.S.C. § 843 (making it unlawful to use any communication facility to commit felony violations of the CSA); and – 21 U.S.C. § 846 (making it illegal to conspire to commit any of the crimes set forth in the CSA) .”

• April 14, 2011, letter from U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Jenny Durkan, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, Michael C. Ormsby, to Christine Gregoire, the Governor of Washington.  The letter was written in response to the Governor’s inquiry as to what the federal government would do if Washington passed a law legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries.  The letter said “The Washington legislative proposals will create a licensing scheme that permits large-scale marijuana cultivation and distribution. This would authorize conduct contrary to federal law and thus, would undermine the federal government’s efforts to regulate the possession, manufacturing, and trafficking of controlled substances. Accordingly, the Department could consider civil and criminal legal remedies regarding those who set up marijuana growing facilities and dispensaries as they will be doing so in violation of federal law.  Others who knowingly facilitate the actions of the licensees, including property owners, landlords, and financiers should also know that their conduct violates federal law. ln addition, state employees who conducted activities mandated by the Washington legislative proposals would not be immune from liability under the CSA. Potential actions the Department could consider include injunctive actions to prevent cultivation and distribution of marijuana and other associated violations of the CSA; civil fines; criminal prosecution; and the forfeiture of any property used to facilitate a violation of the CSA. As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated, the Department of Justice remains firmly committed to enforcing the CSA in all states.”

• April 20, 2012, letter from U.S. Attorney for Montana Michael W. Cotter to Montana State Senator Jim Peterson, Senate President, Representative Mike Milburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

• April 26, 2011, letter from Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.  The letter includes this text “These letters indicate that while the Department of Justice will not focus its limited resources on seriously ill individuals who use marijuana as part of a medically recommended treatment regimen in compliance with state law, it does maintain its full authority to vigorously enforce federal law against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law. Of great concern is the fact that some of the letters make clear the U.S. Attorneys do not consider state employees who conduct activities under state medical marijuana laws to be immune from liability under federal law.”  Emphasis added.

• April 26, 2012, letter from U.S. Attorney for Colorado John F. Walsh to Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers.  This is the now standard state legal medical marijuana laws violate federal criminal laws and the Department of Justice will prosecute violators other than patients.

• April 29, 2011, letter from U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Peter F. Neronha to Rhode Island Governor Lincoln D. Chafee.  This is the now standard state legal medical marijuana laws violate federal criminal laws and the Department of Justice will prosecute violators other than patients.

• May 2, 2011, letter from U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke to Will Humble, Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.  This is the now standard state legal medical marijuana laws violate federal criminal laws and the Department of Justice will prosecute violators other than patients.

• May 3, 2011, letter from U.S. Attorney for Vermont Tristram J. Coffin to Commissioner Keith W. Flynn of the Vermont Department of Public Safety.  This is the now standard state legal medical marijuana laws violate federal criminal laws and the Department of Justice will prosecute violators other than patients.

• May 10, 2011, letter from New Hampshire Attorney General Michael A. Delaney to New Hampshire State Senator Jeb Bradley.  The AG tells the senator that he opposes a pending bill that would legalize medical marijuana in New Hampshire.

• May 10, 2011, letter from U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire John P. Kacavas to New Hampshire Attorney General Michael A. Delaney.  This is the now standard state legal medical marijuana laws violate federal criminal laws and the Department of Justice will prosecute violators other than patients.

• May 16, 2011, letter from U.S. Attorney for Maine Thomas E. Delahanty, II, to Maine State Senator Earle M. McCormick and Maine State Representative Meredith N. Strang Burgess.  This is the now standard state legal medical marijuana laws violate federal criminal laws and the Department of Justice will prosecute violators other than patients.