Press Democrat:  “The Obama administration’s statewide crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries has landed a one-two punch in Marin County.  The Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the state’s oldest dispensary, has posted a sign at its Fairfax storefront officeannouncing that the dispensary will shut down Dec. 17.  And Medi-Cone, a medical marijuana collective that was cultivating, harvesting and packaging medical marijuana for several Bay Area dispensaries ceased operations last week due to increased scrutiny by authorities

Ray Stern of the Phoenix New Times wrote an in depth article examining President Obama’s who he says is trying to hack medical marijuana off at the knees.

“The new federal crackdown on medical marijuana announced on October 7 by California’s four U.S. Attorneys sent chills through the industry. It was a stunning reversal by the Obama administration. . . . If the feds shut down every dispensary in the land, medical-marijuana patients still can possess pot legally under state laws — they’ll just have to go back to buying it from Mexican drug cartels rather than from taxpaying and job-providing Americans.”

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer killed Arizona’s medical marijuana dispensaries before the dispensaries even got to the starting gate.  The six lawsuits involving Arizona’s medical marijuana dispensary industry and cannabis clubs are slowly proceeding in court.  What happens in each of the lawsuits is not as important as the elephant in the medical marijuana room, which is that the United States has now made it clear even to the blind who will not see that the U.S. will prosecute people involved in selling medical marijuana any where in the U.S., including in states that have legalized it.  Here is the evidence:

• “New York Times: Federal Crackdown on Medical Pot Sales Reflects a Shift in Policy“

• “Feds Announce another Nail in Medical Marijuana Dispensaries’ Coffin – RIP“

• “IRS Claims Harborside Health Center Owes $2.5 Million in Back Taxes on Sales of $22 Million“

• “IRS is in the Early Stages of a War to Kill Medical Marijuana Dispensaries”

• “Will Humble & Other Arizona Medical Marijuana Law Pundits Bury Heads in Sand“

The U.S. Justice Department has said in no uncertain terms that it will do the following in all fifty states:

1. Prosecute people involved in selling medical marijuana to medical marijuana patients or caregivers.
2. Prosecute people involved in growing medical marijuana for the purpose of selling to medical marijuana patients and caregivers.
3. Prosecute landlords who lease real property to people or businesses that grow or sell marijuana on the premises.
4. Prosecute lenders who loan money to people or businesses that grow medical marijuana for distribution or that sell  marijuana to medical marijuana patients or caregivers.

It does not matter if the parties who want to establish medical marijuana dispensaries and cannabis clubs are successful in all six of the Arizona lawsuits.  Even if the six lawsuits authorize medical marijuana dispensaries and cannabis clubs in Arizona, the federal government will prosecute anyone involved in growing and selling marijuana – medical or recreational.

People involved  in the cannabis club industry should also be very afraid.  The only people who have any comfort from the U.S. Justice Department’s current medical marijuana policies are state approved medical marijuana patients and caregivers who do not sell marijuana.  Cannabis clubs do not fall in that category.  It is clear to me that the U.S. Justice Department’s policy is to prosecute everybody involved in growing, selling and distributing marijuana except patients and caregivers.

The end of the medical marijuana industry in the 16 states that have legalized medical marijuana is at hand.  Here are several articles that discuss the announcement by the four U.S. Attorneys for California that the United States will pursue forfeiture law suits against real estate owners whose property is used by medical marijuana dispensaries.

• Los Angeles Times:  “Feds cracking down on California medical marijuana dispensaries – Federal prosecutors in California are threatening to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, sending letters to warn landlords to stop sales of the drug within 45 days or face the possibility that their property will be seized and they will be sent to prison.   The stepped-up enforcement appears to be a major escalation in the Obama administration’s bid to rein in the explosive spread of medical marijuana outlets that was accelerated by the announcement that federal prosecutors would not target people using medical marijuana in states that allow it.”

• ABC News:  “Justice Dept. Targets Marijuana Distributors in Calif. – The Justice Department announced today it is cracking down on the illegal distribution of marijuana in four federal districts in California, which has had a growing cannabis industry since legalizing medicinal marijuana in 1996.  The action places into question marijuana-related activities in 15 other states and the District of Columbia, which have legalized medicinal marijuana in some form.”

• USA Today:  “Feds to outline plans today for shutting down Calif. pot shops  – The four U.S. attorneys in California, the first state to pass a law legalizing marijuana use for patients with doctors’ recommendations, have scheduled a joint news conference today to ‘outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana.'”

• Sign On San Diego:  “Feds seek closure of medical marijuana dispensaries – “‘Apparently the federal government would rather destroy an industry that’s employing tens of thousands of people and creating hundreds of millions of dollars in legal tax revenues to save face on a bankrupt policy that the American people don’t even support — namely denying the medical value of marijuana,” Cal NORML Director Dale Gieringer said.”

• Phoenix New Times:  “Feds Target Property Owners of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in California – If there’s no push-back from the states that have legalized weed for qualified patients, including Arizona, it looks like this could be the end of the road for what has been a thriving, though not altogether legal, medical marijuana industry.  Oh, and Jan Brewer will be proved right.”

• Phoenix New Times:  “DEA: Any ‘Individual’ or Group Growing or Distributing Pot for ‘Recreational Use’ Can be Target of Investigation– The Drug Enforcement Agency wants to make it clear that it’s not just going after kingpins.  Any ‘individual’ or organization involved in growing or distributing pot for recreational use can be a target of an investigation, the DEA warns through a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman.”

Reuters:  “State-run medical marijuana dispensaries will not be coming to Rhode Island after Governor Lincoln Chafee scrapped the plan for fear it was illegal under federal law.  Chafee, who had earlier vowed support for the measure, said he decided the state’s planned dispensaries could violate superseding federal law and become a target of federal law enforcement efforts.”

This is probably the tactic Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will take to prevent medical marijuana dispensaries in Arizona after her Arizona vs. United States lawsuit gets dismissed by the federal court.

Phoenix New Times:  “The U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau, the same agency that lets drug cartel members buy guns, is warning firearms dealers not to sell to medical marijuana users.  In an open letter to the nation’s licensed firearms sellers, the ATF reminds dealers that federal law prohibits any user of a controlled substance from possessing or buying guns.  A standard form filled out by gun buyers asks if the buyer is a ‘user of’ or ‘addicted’ to any controlled substance — checking ‘yes’ effectively cancels the sale.”

When he was campaigning for President of the United States Barack Obama said to the Oregon Mail Tribune on March 22, 2008:

“What I’m not going to be doing is using the Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state medical marijuana laws.”

On June 29, 2011, the President’s Justice Department sent a letter to all attorneys in the Justice Department that included this statement:

“Persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, regardless of state law.”

What makes this broken promise especially bad is that the overwhelming majority of Americans favor the legalization of medical marijuana.  See the ABC News story called “High Support for Medical Marijuana, which includes the results of an ABC poll released January of 2010 that found that 81% favored legalization.

Marijuana Policy Project Campaign

Today Rob Kampia, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project sent an email with the subject “Betrayed.”  The text of his message is below.  If you oppose the Justice Department’s continued war on medical marijuana, you should click on the links in his message to voice your position to the powers that be.

Two days ago, without any public comment, President Obama broke the above campaign promise to medical marijuana patients when his Justice Department issued a new departmental policy for enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states with medical marijuana programs. Deputy Attorney General James Cole stated that while federal prosecutors should not go after sick and dying individuals, they may choose to prosecute businesses that provide marijuana to patients, even when the providers are abiding by state law.

To put it simply, this is absurd.

Please email the White House today, and ask the Obama administration to respect the rights of the states – and the needs of the patients – by leaving medical marijuana providers who act in compliance with state law alone.

Despite the memo’s claim to the contrary, it contradicts what had been official DOJ policy and flies in the face of numerous past statements by the president and his attorney general. In May 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder testified in Congress that “if the entity is, in fact, operating consistent with state law, and is not — does not have any of those factors involved that are contained in that
Deputy Attorney General memo, … [threatening to arrest the dispensary’s employees] would be inconsistent with what the policy is as we have set it out.”

Please tell the Obama administration that providing channels for patients to safely obtain their doctor-recommended medicine is a crucial component of workable medical marijuana laws. Then, please post this link to your Facebook or Twitter account. Without necessary medical marijuana providers, many patients may have to revert to buying marijuana from the criminal market.

Finally, if you were an Obama supporter in any capacity during his 2008 campaign, please call his 2012 campaign headquarters and demand that he keep his promise to medical marijuana patients.

Thank you kindly for supporting marijuana policy reform.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project

In a June 29, 2011, letter from James M. Cole, Deputy Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice has apparently “clarified” its position on whether it will prosecute people who grow and distribute medical marijuana for money while complying state legal medical marijuana laws.  The answer is – YES!  The complex text of the letter follows:

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of the Deputy Attorney General

Washington. D.C. 20530

June 29, 2011

MEMORANDUM FOR UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS

FROM: James M. Cole  Deputy Attorney General

SUBJECT:  Guidance Regarding the Ogden Memo in Jurisdictions Seeking to Authorize Marijuana for Medical Use

Over the last several months some of you have requested the Department’s assistance in responding to inquiries from State and local governments seeking guidance about the Department’s position on enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in jurisdictions that have under consideration, or have implemented, legislation that would sanction and regulate the commercial cultivation and distribution of marijuana purportedly for medical use. Some of these jurisdictions have considered approving the cultivation of large quantities of marijuana, or broadening the regulation and taxation of the substance. You may have seen letters responding to these inquiries by several United States Attorneys. Those letters are entirely consistent with the October 2009 memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden to federal prosecutors in States that have enacted laws authorizing the medical use of marijuana (the “Ogden Memo”).

The Department of Justice is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States. Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels. The Ogden Memorandum provides guidance to you in deploying your resources to enforce the CSA as part of the exercise of the broad discretion you are given to address federal criminal matters within your districts.

A number of states have enacted some form of legislation relating to the medical use of marijuana. Accordingly, the Ogden Memo reiterated to you that prosecution of significant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana, remains a core priority, but advised that it is likely not an efficient use of federal resources to focus enforcement efforts on individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or their caregivers. The term “caregiver” as used in the memorandum meant just that: individuals providing care to individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses, not commercial operations cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana.

The Department’s view of the efficient use of limited federal resources as articulated in the Ogden Memorandum has not changed. There has, however, been an increase in the scope of commercial cultivation, sale, distribution and use of marijuana for purported medical purposes.  For example, within the past 12 months, several jurisdictions have considered or enacted legislation to authorize multiple large-scale, privately-operated industrial marijuana cultivation centers. Some of these planned facilities have revenue projections of millions of dollars based on the planned cultivation of tens of thousands of cannabis plants.

The Ogden Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law. Persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, regardless of state law. Consistent with resource constraints and the discretion you may exercise in your district, such persons are subject to federal enforcement action, including potential prosecution. State laws or local ordinances are not a defense to civil or criminal enforcement of federal law with respect to such conduct, including enforcement of the CSA. Those who engage in transactions involving the proceeds of such activity may also be in violation of federal money laundering statutes and other federal financial laws.

The Department of Justice is tasked with enforcing existing federal criminal laws in all states, and enforcement of the CSA has long been and remains a core priority.

 

Phoenix New Times:  “It doesn’t look like Cole’s new letter explicitly states that state workers have some sort of amnesty from federal prosecution. On the other hand, it doesn’t state that Arizona Department of Health Services employees are at risk of getting busted, either. No doubt, Obama doesn’t want to go down in history as the guy who put DHS Director Will Humble behind bars simply for going along with the wishes of Arizona voters.”

Bloomberg:  “Marijuana Growers in States Allowing Medical Use May Be Charged, U.S. Says”

Reason Online:  “Obama Administration Overrides 2009 Ogden Memo, Declares Open Season on Pot Shops in States Where Medical Marijuana Is Legal“