Yesterday Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
introduced a bill that would
stop the Justice Department from using civil
asset forfeiture threats to close down medical marijuana
dispensaries that are operating in compliance with state law. "For
more than a year," Americans for Safe Access notes,
"the DOJ has been engaged in a campaign to undermine
the implementation of state law by threatening real
property owners with asset forfeiture if they do not promptly
evict their state law-compliant medical cannabis businesses." Many
dispensaries in states such
California, Colorado,
and
Washington have closed as a result of these threats. Lee’s
bill, the States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection
Act, would add the following language to the Controlled Substances
Act:
No real property, including any right, title, and interest in
the whole of any lot or tract of land and any appurtenances or
improvements, shall be subject to forfeiture under subparagraph (A)
due to medical marijuana-related conduct that is authorized by
State law.
Deciding which conduct is authorized by state law may be
trickier in
California than in
Colorado, but here’s a crazy idea that might just work: Why not
let state officials make that call? The Obama administration should
have no problem supporting this bill, since it has repeatedly
said the Justice Department won’t be using its scarce resources
to target state-authorized medical marijuana suppliers. Except that
policy was never really carried
out. Quite
the
opposite,
in fact.
You might think legislation aimed at promoting federalism,
protecting property rights, and curtailing asset forfeiture abuse
would attract Republicans, but so far all the co-sponsors are
Democrats. Drug warriors have been warning us for decades that
marijuana impairs memory, and the clearest example is the way it
makes conservatives forget their principles.
