Tag: medical marijuana

The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled persons on probation may not use marijuana, even if they have a valid state license to do so. The opinion is here.

The Court based its decision on federal law which it says outlaws possession and use of marijuana. (Actually, federal law only bans possession, not use of a controlled substance but no one seems to raise creative ways one could use marijuana without actually or constructively possessing it.)[More...]

The Weed Wars continue. Here's the U.S. Attorney's press release on yesterday's California medical marijuana dispensary raids. DOJ's "justification" for the raids is in this earlier press release.

The California Supreme Court has agreed to hear two medical marijuana cases.

The California Supreme Court has jumped into the fray again over the legality of medical marijuana laws, deciding on Wednesday to review two lower court rulings that impact how and whether local governments can regulate pot dispensaries across the state.

In their weekly closed-door session, the justices voted unanimously to review cases out of Long Beach and Riverside that dealt with the ongoing conflict between California's voter-approved law allowing the use of medical marijuana and federal laws barring the use or sale of the drug. The state Supreme Court's rulings in the cases are likely to have a widespread impact in the Bay Area, where cities from San Jose to Oakland have regulations dealing with medical marijuana providers.

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Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh has been busy filling in names to his latest form letter, warning 23 Colorado medical marijuana dispensaries to shut down within 45 days or face forfeiture of their businesses and any financial proceeds generated, as well as enhanced criminal charges.

The reason: The dispensaries are operating within 1,000 feet of a school, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 860(a). The letter is here. The press release is here. Similar letters were also sent to the landlords of the businesses and property owners. Landlords were warned about 21 USC 856(a).

The most significant line in the letter:

"The Department of Justice has the authority to enforce the federal law even when such activities may be permitted under state law."

What about the Odgen Memo? Walsh insists his letters are in compliance with it: [More...]

The Colorado Department of Revenue joined the short list of two other states asking the DEA to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II controlled substance. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, a classification reserved for substances deemed to have no medicinal value or a high potential for abuse. From the DEA website:

Substances in this schedule have a high potential for abuse, have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision. Some examples of substances listed in schedule I are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), peyote, methaqualone, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“ecstasy”).

State law required the Director to write the letter. House Bill 1284, the 2010 law with regulations for medical marijuana, specifies the duties of the state licensing authority. It includes this provision:

"The state licensing authority shall....

....In recognition of the potential medicinal value of medical marijuana, make a request by January 1, 2012, to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to consider rescheduling, for pharmaceutical purposes, medical marijuana from a schedule I controlled substance to a schedule II controlled substance.

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There were at least 14 DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington state today. More than a dozen people were arrested.

Tonight, DEA Special Agent in Charge Matthew Barnes issued this statement:

"The DEA will exercise its investigative authority to pursue criminal actions for any violation of federal law, when warranted. This includes investigating organizations or individuals that grow, manufacture or distribute any illegal drug to include marijuana, and those who rent or maintain a property to facilitate drug trafficking."

Via Huffington Post and NORML, here's the letter signed by 9 members of Congress asking President Obama to stop the raids on medical marijuana businesses.

It is our strong position that local and state governments must be allowed to develop, implement and enforce their own public health laws with regard to medical cannabis," the letter stated.

The letter asks Obama to administratively reschedule marijuana so it's no longer a Schedule I substance or publicly support H.R. 1983, States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, that would prohibit federal interference in state-run medical marijuana clinics. The bill was introduced by Rep. Barney Frank. [More...]

Roshaja Harvey was found to have violated the terms of his supervised release for using marijuana. Harvey appealed, contending that because he had a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana in California pursuant to the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, he did not violate the possession prohibition of the Federal Controlled Substances Act. He also argued a doctor's "order" was different than a "prescription."

The 9th Circuit has rejected his defense, affirmed the trial court's order, and added:

Whatever else “order” might mean under § 844(a) of the Controlled Substances Act, it does not include a mere recommendation from a physician pursuant to the Compassionate Use Act.

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Just another reason to ski in Colorado. Voters in Steamboat Springs yesterday rejected a proposal to ban medical marijuana businesses. Steamboat is in Routt County, and a separate proposal to ban the businesses throughout the county also failed. As one commenter to the article noted:

More people voted to retain MMJ businesses than voted for any member of the City Council.

In related news, Dan Hartman, the state's director of Medical Marijuana Enforcement has been reassigned to a different division. While the Department won't confirm it, many believe the reassignment came about because of his public stance opposing local bans of medical marijuana businesses. Here's the letter he wrote that was published in the Steamboat Springs Pilot: [More..]

Another first for Colorado: The Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue has issued its first licenses to medical marijuana businesses. 11 businesses received the licenses and 7 have been notified they are next. 467 are in the final application phase.

Colorado is the first state in the nation to license marijuana dispensaries and infused-product businesses.

Medical-marijuana advocates say Colorado's regulations for cannabis businesses are the most comprehensive in the nation, and they credit the rules' thoroughness with shielding the businesses from federal raids.

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NBC News Los Angeles interviewed Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California (Los Angeles) this weekend on the recent federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries, their landlords and banks that do business with them.

According to Birotte, the crackdowns are on those who are making a profit, which is against California law. He insists they are only going after the profiteers since they are not in compliance with state law. His soundbite: "The compassionate use act has turned into the commercial use act." [More...]

Here is the press release issued by the Department of Justice (Eastern District of California) today on the new federal crackdown on medical marijuana businesses: (Received by e-mail, no link yet.)

SACRAMENTO, Calif.October 7, 2011 – The four California-based United States Attorneys today announced coordinated enforcement actions targeting the illegal operations of the commercial marijuana industry in California. The statewide enforcement effort is aimed at curtailing the large, for-profit marijuana industry that has developed since the passage of California's Proposition 215 in 1996. That industry has swelled to include numerous drug-trafficking enterprises that operate commercial grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of marijuana stores across the state — even though the federal Controlled Substances Act makes illegal the sale and distribution of marijuana.

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In 2004, Barack Obama said the drug war was "an utter failure" and we need to rethink it.

In New Hampshire in 2007, he said he would not have the Justice Department prosecute medical marijuana.

Obama during the presidential campaign: He won't use Justice Department resources to circumvent state laws. He wants them to focus on violent crime and terrorism.

The Department of Justice has sent a threatening letter to marijuana dispensaries in California. The Associated Press has obtained the letter and reports:

Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state's 15-year-old medical marijuana law.

There will be a press conference tomorrow at which California U.S. Attorneys announce the new crackdown. At least 16 dispensaries and landlords got the letter which says they are violating federal drug laws, regardless of whether they are in compliance with California law. [More...]

The IRS has now jumped into the fray of medical marijuana businesses -- including dispensaries operating legally under the laws of their states.

The IRS is asserting that dispensaries cannot deduct ordinary business expenses like salaries, rent and security costs.

Here are the letters the IRS has sent. Its position: [More...]

The Department of Justice issued a new memo (available here) to federal prosecutors yesterday further "clarifying" its 2009 Ogden Memorandum. The Odgen memorandum (available here) said federal resources should not be used to prosecute those in "clear and unambiguous" compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

Sorry, the new memo says, that's not what we meant. We only meant federal resources shouldn't be used to prosecute cancer patients and other seriously ill people who used marijuana in compliance with state law. We never meant to provide a shield for those who supply medical marijuana to those in full compliance with state law.[More...]