Pot dispensaries have flourished in California, one of 16 states where the use of medical marijuana is legal. But the federal government is now giving some of the state's pot shops 45 days to close down.
The state's four U.S. attorneys gave notice to at least 16 stores that they must close, or face criminal charges and the seizure of their property, according to the Associated Press.
The letters likely stem from a Department of Justice memo sent to U.S. attorneys, instructing them that people "who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, regardless of state law."
The AP obtained some of the letters sent to pot dispensaries this week, which reportedly state that federal law "takes precedence over state law... and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana."
Greg Anton, a lawyer for a pot dispensary in Marin, Calif., tells the AP that the shop's owner "has been paying state and federal taxes for 14 years, and they have cashed all the checks."
"All I hear from Obama is whining about his budget," Anton said, "but he has money to do this — which will actually reduce revenues."
Well................I guess Ron Paul is our only hope for the decriminilzation of marajuana and other "illicit substances".
The Prez stated that MJ prosecution was to be a low priority for the DOJ. He lied, again.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
It is unlikely that any decision on this was made in the WH.
The president can establish priorities but he cannot forbid the justice dept to enforce the law. The conflict between state and federal law is not his doing.
rubato wrote:The president can establish priorities but he cannot forbid the justice dept to enforce the law.
Actually by establishing priorities, the President can forbid the "Justice" Department from enforcing certain laws: He can simply direct the Attorney General to put those laws at the bottom of the list of priorities.
Reason is valuable only when it performs against the wordless physical background of the universe.
dales wrote:[
The AP obtained some of the letters sent to pot dispensaries this week, which reportedly state that federal law "takes precedence over state law... and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana."
That is not necessarily so, it depends on the specific law and the area of responsibility. Federal laws only have precedence over states laws if they pertain to a responsibility (right) that has been delegate to the federal government by the US Constitution. Would it not be a question for the Supreme Court to decide?
Do drugs present such a danger to the General Welfare of the United States that it justifies the intervention of the federal government?
Soon, I’ll post my farewell message. The end is starting to get close. There are many misconceptions about me, and before I go, to live with my ancestors on the steppes, I want to set the record straight.
