The Drug Enforcement Administration has ordered 11 Seattle
medical marijuana dispensaries to close their doors and cease operations within
30 days.
Even though November's voter approved Initiative 502 legalized marijuana
for adults over the age of 21 throughout the State of Washington, the 11
dispensaries received DEA letters because the distribution of marijuana is still
illegal under federal law.
The letter informed dispensary owners that they had
30 days to cease operations or their properties may be legally seized under
federal drug trafficking laws.
At the present moment, it remains unclear why these particular
dispensaries were singled out because all owners are fully compliant with state
and local laws.
One thing is certain, however, these letters signal a return of
the war on marijuana.
“These letters suggest
that if my clients remain in business, they could lose their companies, their
homes, their cars, basically every piece of property that the Feds consider an
asset.
”
---Seattle criminal
defense attorney Kurt Boehl
These letters are strikingly similar to letters that were
mailed last summer to more than 2 dozen dispensaries in the Seattle community.
Last summer's letters referenced federal drug sentencing laws that prohibit the
sales of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, park, or other type of
sensitive location.
Yet, neither Washington nor Seattle prohibits dispensaries
from operating within 1,000 feet of a school or park and there is currently no
federal law governing medical marijuana dispensaries and their proximity to
schools.
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