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Reefer Madness gets even more mad
ST. LOUIS, June 12 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - Federal prosecutors are targeting medical marijuana shops in California, seeking forfeiture of the properties in which they do business.
The authorities are pressuring landlords to shut down the shops or face possible loss of the real estate through the unconventional and low-key use of a civil statute designed primarily to seize the assets of drug-trafficking organizations.
While some states, including California, have legalized medical marijuana businesses, the federal government does not recognize their authority to do so and has targeted the shops for violations of the 40-year-old Controlled Substances Act.
The goal of the Justice Department's effort, part of a crackdown announced last October, is to fight the medical marijuana industry, estimated at $1.7 billion annually, without confronting it head-on with costly and potentially embarrassing criminal prosecutions, industry sources and legal experts said. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-usa-marijuana-landlords-idUSBRE85D0JA20120614?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews
13 replies
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"If you bring criminal charges against these medical marijuana businesses, the federal government gets pilloried in the press for attacking California law and sick people."
Baldwin, who specializes in complex commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense, added that with all four U.S. attorneys in California employing the same strategy, it is clearly official Justice Department policy rather than an anomaly involving rogue prosecutors.
The new approach stems from Justice's difficult position under President Barack Obama, said Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
The department cannot rely on heavy-handed criminal prosecutions to combat medical marijuana, St. Pierre said. But it also cannot ignore the issue and risk being labeled soft on drug crime.
"It's being done softly, because if they tried to go the harsh criminal route there is a very good chance they would not only fail but become even more unpopular, something you tend to not want to do going into your last election," he said.
Baldwin, who specializes in complex commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense, added that with all four U.S. attorneys in California employing the same strategy, it is clearly official Justice Department policy rather than an anomaly involving rogue prosecutors.
The new approach stems from Justice's difficult position under President Barack Obama, said Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
The department cannot rely on heavy-handed criminal prosecutions to combat medical marijuana, St. Pierre said. But it also cannot ignore the issue and risk being labeled soft on drug crime.
"It's being done softly, because if they tried to go the harsh criminal route there is a very good chance they would not only fail but become even more unpopular, something you tend to not want to do going into your last election," he said.
Colorado has a bill on the ballot this fall that would legalize small amounts MJ for rec use. I think Obama is being very short sighted on this issue.
from millions of potential reefer zombies munching down everything in our pantries before crashing on our couches. 
