Federal Dispensary Attacks | Arizona Medical Marijuana Law

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Feds File Forfeiture Lawsuit Against Owner of Berkley’s Largest Medical Marijuana Dispensary

The following is the contents of a press release issued by Americans for Safe Access on May 8, 2013. Note to Owners of real estate who lease land to licensed Arizona medical marijuana dispensaries: Are you paying attention?

One of California’s oldest medical marijuana dispensaries, Berkeley Patients Group (BPG), was served with a [...]

War on Marijuana Returns with Federal Crackdown on Seattle Dispensaries

The Daily Chronic: “After a several month long cease-fire, the War on Marijuana has reignited in Washington, with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ordering 11 Seattle-area medical marijuana dispensaries to shut down within 30 days. Despite November’s voter-approved Initiative 502, which legalized marijuana for all adults 21 or over in the state of Washington, and [...]

Obama’s War on Medical Marijuana

The Daily Beast: “While a high school student at Honolulu’s elite Punahou School, Barack Obama was a high-flying member of a pot-smoking, party-hearty crew that called itself ‘the Choom Gang. . . . I inhaled frequently . . . that was the whole point.’ In 2008, he said that he wouldn’t use federal [...]

Public Opinion Favors Pot Legalization but Federal Raids Continue across California

Kitsap Sun: “More than 60 percent of those surveyed also said that the federal government should not enforce federal laws against marijuana in states where it’s legal for medicinal or recreational use. Almost 80 percent of respondents said they believe that marijuana has valuable medicinal uses as well. . . . Possession and [...]

Authorities Raid San Bernardino Marijuana Dispensaries

The Sun: “Accompanied by police, fire and code enforcement, City Attorney’s Office officials raided three medical marijuana dispensaries Wednesday, serving warrants and demanding that they shut down allegedly illegal activities. No arrests were made, but officials had a message for The Trio Holistic Center and Berdo Medical Center at 1455 W. Highland Ave. [...]

Feds Have Closed Almost All of the 525+ Marijuana Businesses in Central California

The following is the text of an April 18, 2013, press release by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California:

In the latest of a series of federal enforcement actions against the commercial marijuana industry in California, federal authorities today moved against 63 illegal marijuana stores in the City [...]

San Diego Area Pot Dispensary, Growing Sites Raided

U-T San Diego: “One day after the San Diego City Council took up the issue of taxing marijuana, narcotics agents raided one of the last remaining medical pot dispensaries in downtown San Diego Tuesday morning. The regional Narcotics Task Force also ran a parallel operation to seize pot plants at homes and businesses [...]

4 Los Angeles Dispensaries Raided

WeHoNews: “Four dispensaries were raided, the La Brea Compassionate Caregivers in Los Angeles and Marina Caregivers in Marina del Rey and Zen Healing at 8464 Santa Monica Blvd. and Alternative Herbal Health Services, at 7828 Santa Monica Blvd.”

A press release issued by the Beverly Hills Police Department said:

“[the raid was [...]

US Drug Czar Says Legalizing Marijuana won’t Solve US Drug Problem

UPI.com: “U.S. President Barack Obama’s point man for drug policy said legalizing marijuana won’t solve the nation’s drug problem, but addiction treatment will increase. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington the legal possession of small amounts of [...]

After the raid: First Oaksterdam, then legal battles for Harborside Health Center

Oakland North: “He might direct the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country, but Steve DeAngelo isn’t scared of the government’s attempts to shut it down. ‘The federal government has thrown everything they had at us and we met them and we pushed back,’ DeAngelo said, referring to Harborside Health Center, where he [...]

DEA Using a $37 Pot Sale to Seize a $1.5 Million Anaheim Building

OC Weekly: “Despite allowing the Kush Expo to operate annually since 2010, the city banned medical-marijuana dispensaries in 2007 and has extended the prohibition every year since. Last year, the city also called in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to help crack down on pot clubs. In August, the DEA sent threatening [...]

Feds to Target Pot Delivery Services

NBC 7 San Diego: “FBI agents in San Diego are shifting focus from closing down medical marijuana dispensaries to cracking down on marijuana delivery services. NBC 7′s Tony Shin has this exclusive report.”

Court Says U.S. can Proceed with Plans to Close Oakland Pot Shop

Los Angeles Times: “Judge throws out lawsuit by Oakland that challenged as illegal the federal attempts to shutter the medical marijuana dispensary, which is the nation’s largest. . . . In filing the suit last October, Oakland became the first city to take on federal enforcement actions that have led to the closure [...]

DEA Using Sale of $37 of Pot as Basis to Take $1.5 Million Commercial Building in Anaheim

OC Weekly: “Last year, the city [Anaheim, CA] also called in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to help crack down on pot clubs. In August, the DEA sent threatening letters to dozens of landlords and filed three asset-forfeiture lawsuits, including one against the owner of a $1.5 million building on Ball Road. [...]

Congressmen Claim Bipartisan Support of Federal Bill to Legalize Marijuana

Denver Westword: “Representatives Jared Polis and Earl Blumenauer unveiled the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013, a measure that would effectively decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The bill is being introduced in response to what Polis called the ‘enormous evolution of American opinion’. . . . The bill would not affect [...]

Feds Raid San Bernadino Medical Marijuana Dispensary Chain

The Daily Chronic: “Federal agents and local authorities raided a chain of medical marijuana dispensaries and a private residence Wednesday. The Drug Enforcement Administration served search warrants simultaneously at all three locations of Kush Concepts in San Bernardino,”

Obama’s Drug War

The Huffington Post has an in depth review of the federal government’s war on medical marijuana under former Choom Gang member Barack Obama. Excerpts from the story are below.

In August 2011, Justice officials told their local government leaders in the town of Chico, Calif., that they could personally be jailed [...]

Administration Throwing Medical Marijuana Patients Into Federal Prison

Toke of the Town: “This month will see a number of patients sentenced, sent to prison despite compliance with state medical marijuana laws. Fallout from the Obama Administration’s aggressive federal enforcement in medical marijuana states has reached a fever pitch this month with three people being sentenced, two others due to surrender to [...]

Feds Sentence Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Aaron Sandusky to 10 Years

The Daily Chronic: “The operator of three state-compliant California medical marijuana dispensaries was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Monday [January 7, 2013] for running what federal prosecutors claimed was an illegal drug business that only pretended to be legitimate under the state’s medical marijuana law. Aaron Sandusky, 43, of Rancho Cucamonga, was [...]

Medical-marijuana Dispensary Owner Sentenced in Federal Court

The Seattle Times: “Just a year ago, Brionne Corbray was a flashy entrepreneur in the Seattle medical-marijuana market, with a late-model Mercedes-Benz and three storefront dispensaries to his name, including a White Center smoking lounge he described as ‘like a bar, without the alcohol.’ On Wednesday, he gained a new distinction — the [...]

Senator Floats Legalizing Marijuana Possession At Federal Level For Pro-Pot States

Huffington Post: “Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) reached out to Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, on Thursday in an effort to find out how the federal government intends to deal with states like Colorado and Washington that have recently legalized marijuana possession. In addition to seeking clarity about [...]

Feds Remain AWOL as Public Pot Smoking Begins

On December 5, 2012, U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan issued the Obama administration’s first statement on Colorado and Washington legalizing marijuana. Ms. Durkan said:

“The Department of Justice is reviewing the legalization initiatives recently passed in Colorado and Washington State. The Department’s responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. [...]

California Superior Court Judge Says Landlord can’t Evict Harborside Health Center for Selling Medical Marijuana

SF Gate: “An Oakland medical marijuana dispensary that bills itself as the nation’s largest has won the first round in its fight to stay open amid a federal crackdown. A California judge ruled last week that Harborside Health Center‘s landlord can’t evict the pot shop even though the U.S. attorney for Northern California is [...]

Former Drug Policy Adviser ‘Can’t Imagine’ Feds Allowing Marijuana Legalization

The Raw Story: “Kevin Sabet, who served as a senior drug policy adviser in the Obama administration, said Sunday that it was unlikely the federal government would allow states to legalize marijuana. ‘I think the administration has been very clear and the president has been very clear that he is against legalization,’ he [...]

Washington to Legalize Marijuana use without Justice Department Guidance

Washington Post: “Adults in Washington state will be able to smoke marijuana legally when it is officially decriminalized Thursday, even though the Justice Department has offered no guidance on the conflict with federal drug laws. . . . Marijuana, however, is still illegal under federal law. State officials say the Justice Department is [...]

Marijuana Dispensary Closed By Feds Re-Opens – Is the Crackdown Over?

SF Weekly: “It’s hard to understand the federal government’s plan on marijuana. First, President Barack Obama helped encouraged a boom in cultivation and in dispensing when he said states were in charge and he wasn’t going to get involved. Then his Justice Department shut down hundreds of dispensaries across the state — including [...]

Pot Dispensary Owner Faces 10 Years in Jail for Violating Federal Laws

Daily News: “While Aaron Sandusky and his supporters contend he committed no crime under California state law, he stands to spend many years — and possibly the rest of his life — behind bars. Sandusky was president of Upland-based G3 Holistic, a medical marijuana dispensary, which in California, is legal. In October, however, [...]

Medical Marijuana & States Rights: Pot Dispensary Owner Faces 10 Years in Jail for Violating Federal Laws

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: “While Aaron Sandusky and his supporters contend he committed no crime under California state law, he stands to spend many years – and possibly the rest of his life – behind bars. Sandusky was president of Upland-based G3 Holistic, a medical marijuana dispensary, which in California, is legal. In [...]

US Marijuana Victories Could be Short-lived

iol news: “US – Votes making Colorado and Washington the first US states to legalise marijuana for recreational use could be short-lived victories for pot backers because the federal government will fight them, two former US drug control officials said on Wednesday. They said the federal government could sue to block parts of [...]

Dispensary Owner Charged with Marijuana Crimes Faces 40 Years in Prison if Convicted

Daily Tahoe Tribune: “Federal prosecutors have formally charged former South Lake Tahoe medical marijuana dispensary owner Gennaro ‘Gino’ DiMatteo with two weed-related crimes. In a criminal complaint unsealed Monday, DiMatteo is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and manufacturing at least 100 marijuana plants. He faces between five and 40 years [...]

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