Federal
prosecutors are targeting more than 100 marijuana shops in Los Angeles
County this week, threatening prosecution if dispensary owners stay in
operation. Officials also moved to seize two properties in Long Beach
catering to marijuana users.
Letters from the federal government were sent to
dispensaries in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Lancaster, and Pearblossom,
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said. The letters informed
dispensary owners they are operating in violation of federal laws.
In Los Angeles, 71 dispensaries in South L.A., downtown, and the Harbor area were sent notices, Mrozek said.
The government’s actions represent the latest effort
to enforce federal laws and the newest challenge to California’s
17-year-old, voter-approved law allowing the sale of marijuana as a
medicinal treatment. Federal authorities contend the 1996 legislation
approved by California voters was intended to allow small, nonprofit
collectives for sick patients, and not result in an explosion of pot
stores.
"Anyone who has spent any time in a marijuana store
can tell these are drug-trafficking businesses," Mrozek said. "All the
stores we have seen are generating significant amount of profits."
The letters sent Tuesday come weeks after Los Angeles voters approved Measure D, which allows 135 dispensaries — those facilities
that were already open and registered with the city before a 2007
moratorium — to stay open. All other dispensaries must shut down.
While the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office is
finalizing the list of 135 dispensaries, and expects to release the list
in about 10 days, Mrozek said he expects some overlap between
facilities ordered to shut down and those on the city’s list allowed to
stay open.
Deputy City Attorney William Carter said his office
will be informing any dispensary on the city’s list they must comply
with federal laws.
Such is the confusing state of marijuana laws in
California, where federal and state rules often conflict with one
another as local governments take a piecemeal approach to regulating
pot.
Kris Hermes, spokesperson for the Americans for Safe
Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group, criticized the federal
government’s actions Tuesday, saying that he believes stores targeted by
the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be allowed to operate because they
are in compliance with state laws.
"Thousands of people will be left without safe and legal access to medical marijuana," Hermes said.
In Long Beach, where dispensaries have been illegal
since last year, the city’s police chief praised the crackdown, saying
that shops have been a problem for the city.
"We always welcome the opportunity to partner with
federal authorities in an effort to address these illegal operations
that affect the quality of life in our community," Long Beach Police
Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement.
The federal government has also filed two asset
forfeiture lawsuits in Long Beach where officials said marijuana stores
are currently operating.
The forfeiture lawsuits allege the owners of the
properties allowed commercial marijuana stores or growing operations.
The dispensaries named by the U.S. Attorney’s Office are the Healing
Tree Holistic Association on East Anaheim Street and the Naples Wellness
Center on East 2nd Street.
Messages left for owners at the two stores were not immediately returned.
