Feds warn some pot dispensaries to shut down
SEATTLE (AP) - The federal government expanded its crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries further into Washington state Thursday, warning nearly two dozen marijuana dispensaries operating in school zones to close shop or face possible prosecution.
The Drug Enforcement Administration sent warning letters Thursday to the operators and landlords of 23 dispensaries located within 1,000 feet of a school or playground in Western Washington. The letters say that if the storefronts don't stop selling and distributing marijuana within 30 days, they could face criminal prosecution or forfeit the properties to the federal government.
"We all work hard to create a safe zone for kids in school," Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a statement announcing the letters. "We need to enforce one message for our students: Drugs have no place in or near our schools."
The warnings come as voters in Washington, Colorado and Oregon are set to vote this fall on legislation that would legalize marijuana for recreational use. Pot would remain illegal under federal law, and it's unclear how the Justice Department would respond if any of the measures pass. The federal government could sue to block the measures from taking effect on the grounds that they would conflict with federal law.
Last month, three dispensaries near Wenatchee in central Washington closed down after being threatened by federal prosecutors.
Thursday's letters mirrored federal efforts in other states, including California and Colorado, to combat the proliferation of pot shops. In southern California this week, the feds filed three forfeiture lawsuits and sent warning letters to more than 60 Orange County marijuana clinics. More than 300 pot stores and grows have been targeted in the Central District of California, which stretches from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino counties, since October, when that state's four U.S. attorneys announced an effort to curb dispensaries.
In Colorado, more than 50 have closed or moved after receiving similar letters from the U.S. attorney there.
Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle medical marijuana attorney, said the letters put landlords in a tough position. They can't possibly win if they fight the feds in court because the law is clear, but in a tough economy, they might not be able to find new tenants right away.
"It's an open intimidation tactic, and it's a very unfair tactic," Hiatt said. "It puts private landlords at the tip of a spear of a federal policy that most of the public doesn't support. They're treating these people exactly like drug dealers, just as they would treat the owner of a crack house. The same kinds of laws apply."
The Drug Enforcement Administration sent warning letters Thursday to the operators and landlords of 23 dispensaries located within 1,000 feet of a school or playground in Western Washington. The letters say that if the storefronts don't stop selling and distributing marijuana within 30 days, they could face criminal prosecution or forfeit the properties to the federal government.
"We all work hard to create a safe zone for kids in school," Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a statement announcing the letters. "We need to enforce one message for our students: Drugs have no place in or near our schools."
The warnings come as voters in Washington, Colorado and Oregon are set to vote this fall on legislation that would legalize marijuana for recreational use. Pot would remain illegal under federal law, and it's unclear how the Justice Department would respond if any of the measures pass. The federal government could sue to block the measures from taking effect on the grounds that they would conflict with federal law.
Last month, three dispensaries near Wenatchee in central Washington closed down after being threatened by federal prosecutors.
Thursday's letters mirrored federal efforts in other states, including California and Colorado, to combat the proliferation of pot shops. In southern California this week, the feds filed three forfeiture lawsuits and sent warning letters to more than 60 Orange County marijuana clinics. More than 300 pot stores and grows have been targeted in the Central District of California, which stretches from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino counties, since October, when that state's four U.S. attorneys announced an effort to curb dispensaries.
In Colorado, more than 50 have closed or moved after receiving similar letters from the U.S. attorney there.
Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle medical marijuana attorney, said the letters put landlords in a tough position. They can't possibly win if they fight the feds in court because the law is clear, but in a tough economy, they might not be able to find new tenants right away.
"It's an open intimidation tactic, and it's a very unfair tactic," Hiatt said. "It puts private landlords at the tip of a spear of a federal policy that most of the public doesn't support. They're treating these people exactly like drug dealers, just as they would treat the owner of a crack house. The same kinds of laws apply."
Are they going to close down the Wallgreen's across from the school too? They are dispensing medically used drugs.
Smoke em out!
You have to wonder what our world is coming to when drug dealers can no longer sell their crap in an open and public place...
 @None You have to wonder what our world is coming to when a large number of people still hold onto extremely out-dated, anti-cannabis propaganda that convinced an entire population of people who, because of the lack of easily accessible information and lack of advancement in general sciences at the time cannabis was made illegal, that cannabis was a harmful substance that should be banned.
What ever happen to a drug free zone around the schools.Hammer them, then hammer them again.Â
@Tacobender 49 OK, but I bet you'd be fine with a convenience store carrying beer, malt liquor, and cheap wine huh? So sad...
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When will people realize that alcohol(and cigarettes)Â are worse than marijuana??
hey komo is that a picture of the states new weed , if you need i could send you a picture of way better
'Feds warn some pot dispensaries to shut down'.
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Some? What about the others? Why not all of them? What do the others know?
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Just curious.
 @bobalouie "What do the others know?"
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That they had to stay at least 1000 ft from a school or playground?
Another reason for legalization... so that dispensaries can be regulated and the Feds will have a more difficult time shutting the State down versus individual idiots.
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If your gonna open and run a dispensary, best option would be NOT to call attention to yourself by posting up shop next to a school. As a patient myself, I feel that there needs to be tighter regulations on dispensaries. That way people won't have a reason to complain!
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Alright, scratch that last sentence. People will ALWAYS find a reason to complain.
 @Tattooed_Angel The difficulty for the feds is that they haven't the resources to go after everyone in a state that refuses to make marijuana illegal. And, hopefully, as the federal government tramples over the rights of the states in its unconstitutional effort to ban specific recreational drugs there will be a resurgence in the states to chain the unelected dogs of the federal government.
Don't have a problem with keeping them away from school zones but it certainly isn't up to the federal government to do that. Thats purely a local matter. The governor has the legal authority to order DEA agents off of land that is not in their jurisdiction but of course she doesn't have the guts to do it. A neither of the new candidates will have the guts to do it either. I'm a libertarian and if we elect that fake conservative running on the republican ticket for governor its even going to be more of a mess.
 @Blindman Federal intrusion is justified by the ever-expanding Commerce Clause. Didn't you know that?
Federal law out shoots state law in the constitution friend
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Not only does the public not support this law, many of us do not support this unconstitutional intrusion into state business. When an amendment is passed allowing the federal government to regulate recreational drugs then they can come into our state and stop marijuana sales. Good luck getting it through Congress and the State legislatures.
The Los Angeles city council recently voted to ban dispensaries because of the negative impact and complaints from neighborhoods. In my neighborhood do we REALLY have enough chronic pain sufferers to support 5 dispensaries within half a mile of each other. I remain unconvinced that we do. It's a sham about a few people wanting to make a lot of money without going to jail and that is what will be realized in a few years time.Â
 @Citizen#3457899654 Those dispensaries are probably in a zoned area and have customers from a large surrounding area.
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You know, I get real tired of uneducated people making the "sham" statement. My sister is 65 now, and for the first 62 years of her life she suffered daily terrible epileptic seizures. From the first day of using medical cannabis she has been seizure free. FREE from SEIZURES!
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Put your "sham" someplace else.
 @WARevolution  @Citizen#3457899654 Sounds terrible, but it doesn't make it right.
WTF are you saying? It's wrong that my sister is seizure free because medical cannabis is illegal according to the lying federal government? You have no idea what it's like to see your sister go through terrible convulsions do you? Not to mention what she goes through.
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The sham that citizen is talking about is the federal government telling me that people should suffer because hemp/cannabis was made illegal so a bunch of good ole' boys could hold on to their monopolies. The government lies and sheaple suck it up.
""We all work hard to create a safe zone for kids in school," Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a statement announcing the letters. "We need to enforce one message for our students: Drugs have no place in or near our schools.""
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Now I do agree with the Feds telling the dispensaries that are operating inside the boundary to shut down. What I don't agree with is the narrow-minded mentality displayed in what I quoted.  The dispensaries aren't selling to the kids, and they don't want to. The mere presence of a medicine shop near a school doesn't increase any danger to the kids.
Pot farming/production is open business Hawaii and Northern CA.
Why crack down here first?
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How does the 10th amendment affect all this? Anyone know?
@jelisized I was questioning the same thing. I am all for state powers and decentralized government.
This is interesting information I found
State Marijuana Laws :
An honest reading of the Constitution with an original understanding of the Founders and Ratifiers makes it quite clear that the federal government has no constitutional authority to override state laws on marijuana. All three branches of the federal government, however, have interpreted (and re-interpreted) the commerce clause of the Constitution to authorize them to engage in this activity, even though thereâs supposedly no âlegalâ commerce in the plant. At best, these arguments are dubious; at worst an intentional attack on the Constitution and your liberty. CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT STATE MARIJUANA LEGISLATION, http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/nullification/marijuana/
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 @SchönLicht  @jelisized Thanks for the link. I don't use or have any interest in using, but the first thing that raised a flag with me is the U.S. Constitution, which, to me, seems to be ignored lately when it comes to the federal govt being able to keep people employed by overstepping the constitution. It'll be an interesting legal fight once it becomes legal at the state level. To me, it clearly is a 10th amendment argument and 'big fed brother' thinks it has absolute power.
 @jelisized  @SchönLicht Unfortunately the Supreme Court has made the 10th Amendment a dead amendment. There is no real limit to the Commerce clause at this point in time which means there is very little state sovereignty left.
Heck while they are at it, why not Starbucks too?? Caffeine is a drug!!
Hopefully they sent letters to Rite-Aid and Walgreens too. Â They are after all, DRUG stores.
oh, the big bad fed is flapping their lips again! I'm scared.
Did they do the same to places selling alcohol? You know, a drug that actually kills people?
Dear Feds: Are there any stores selling beer, wine, or liquor of any kind within 100 ft. of said zones? #!!*#!$&*!! double standards...get over yourselves already and forget you refer madness mentality...make it legal.
(or would that interfere with the MILLIONS the alcohol lobby gives you you annually?)
 @Sydthepiper It would also interfere with the millions the major drug companies give to congressmen. The major drug companies would lose millions if not billions if pot were legalized across the country. How much Aleve do you think they could sell along with all the heavy duty painkillers?
 @jcman ...now, why I did i not post that.....Thank You, Sir!.....a better point than mine.
@Sydthepiper Actually, right across the street from the high school I went to does not sell any alcohol or lotto tickets. They do, however, sell smokes.
 @Sydthepiper I should have read your comment before posting mine. Whoops!
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@Shelly @Sydthepiper I think you did just fine posting the same sentiment!! You sydthepipe are on the same page and clearly others agree!! I sure do!!