Friends of Ours

Los Angeles Puts The Kibosh On Pot Shops

The medical marijuana experiment in California is going up in smoke.

The Los Angeles City Council "voted unanimously Tuesday to ban all pot dispensaries" -- some 762 of them -- as reported by Kate Linthicum for the Los Angeles Times:

[Police Chief Charlie] Beck, who appeared before the council, said dispensaries can be hot spots for crime, citing burglaries, armed robberies and killings. In a letter to lawmakers, he said most pot shops are "for-profit businesses engaged in the sale of recreational marijuana to healthy young adults."

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Feds March Through Cali To Shutter Pot Shops

The Obama administration continues to crack down on pot shops in California, and yesterday the feds said "they plan to seize the Oakland property used by Harborside Health Center, which is believed to be the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary" as reported by Matthai Kuruvila for the San Francisco Chronicle:  "Its size made it a target, said Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. She called the famed dispensary 'a superstore.'"

Last April the DEA and IRS raided Oaksterdam University and a marijuana dispensary which allegedly are run by activist Richard Lee as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

California liberals finally are understanding the conservative case for state's rights under the Tenth Amendment as they watch their local medical marijuana laws go up in smoke from an encroaching federal government as reported by Norimitsu Onishi for The New York Times:  "acting on federal law, which considers all possession and distribution of marijuana to be illegal, California's four United States attorneys, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, have shut down at least 500 dispensaries statewide in the last eight months by sending letters to operators, landlords and local officials, warning of criminal charges and the seizure of assets."

California Liberals Get Schooled On Federal Power

California liberals finally are understanding the conservative case for state's rights under the Tenth Amendment as they watch their local medical marijuana laws go up in smoke from an encroaching federal government as reported by Norimitsu Onishi for The New York Times:  "acting on federal law, which considers all possession and distribution of marijuana to be illegal, California's four United States attorneys, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, have shut down at least 500 dispensaries statewide in the last eight months by sending letters to operators, landlords and local officials, warning of criminal charges and the seizure of assets."

Feds Raid Cannabis College In Oakland, CA

The DEA and IRS yesterday raided Oaksterdam University and a marijuana dispensary which are allegedly run by activist Richard Lee as reported by the Los Angeles Times: 

Federal agents have conducted more than 170 raids of medical marijuana operations nationwide since 2009, according to Americans for Safe Access. * * * Since October, U.S. attorneys have sent at least 300 letters to landlords of dispensaries in California and Colorado, ordering them to evict their tenants or face seizure of their property and prosecution. They have threatened local officials trying to permit dispensaries. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has pressured banks to close accounts linked to marijuana. And the IRS has audited dozens of dispensaries using an obscure provision of the federal tax code that prohibits drug traffickers from making any deductions.

Apparently stoner dreams of a 420 nation under President Obama are going up in smoke.

Feds Clamp Down On Medical Marijuana Shops

The feds continue to target medical marijuana dispensaries which otherwise are operating in accordance with state law.

In Colorado federal prosecutors gave 23 dispensaries which are operating within 1,000 feet of a school 45 days to shut down or face criminal prosecution as reported by John Ingold for The Denver Post.

They issued an identical ultimatum to medical marijuana dispensaries in California last October.

The threats are not idle.

The feds yesterday filed suit "to seize the building of a Sacramento dispensary, charging the marijuana store violated federal laws against drug transactions near schools" as reported by Peter Hecht for The Sacramento Bee, and on Wednesday DEA agents raided three dispensaries in San Diego as reported by Tony Shin for NBC:  "landlords who rent to pot shops were warned to evict their tenants or face prosecution and lose their property."