cannabisnews.com: DEA Tells 23 MMJ Storefronts To Shut Down
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DEA Tells 23 MMJ Storefronts To Shut Down
Posted by CN Staff on August 23, 2012 at 19:44:06 PT
By Jonathan Martin
Source: Seattle Times
Washington -- The Drug Enforcement Administration mailed letters Thursday to 23 medical marijuana businesses in Western Washington, warning they could be prosecuted and the properties seized if they are operating within a school zone.“Please take the necessary steps to discontinue the sale and/or distribution of marijuana…within 30 days,” read the letter, signed by Matthew G. Barnes, special agent in charge of the Seattle office.
Neither the DEA nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which supported the action, would release the names of the 23 dispensaries or disclose which cities they’re located in.Barnes said in a statement that “additional notifications” will be sent “as necessary.”“I am confident that once notified of the ramifications and penalties associated with renting a property for marijuana distribution purposes, property owners will take appropriate steps to rectify the situation on their own. The DEA will not turn a blind eye to criminal organizations that attempt to use state or local law as a shield for their illicit drug trafficking activities,” Barnes said in a statement.The letters, which threaten property forfeiture and criminal prosecution, follow similar federal action against medical marijuana operations in Eastern Washington, Northern California and Colorado targeting storefronts near schools. In other states, the federal actions at times have clashed with state or local laws allowing dispensaries, flaming renewed debate in the 16 states and the District of Columbia which allow medical marijuana.“We need to enforce one message for our students: drugs have no place in or near our schools,” the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, Jenny Durkan, said in a statement.Washington’s medical marijuana law doesn’t authorize dispensaries. An effort to legalize and regulate them passed the state Legislature last year, but was vetoed by Gov. Chris Gregorie, leaving Washington with one of the most unregulated medical marijuana industries in the country.Gregoire’s veto left intact a law that allows 10 patients to band together to form a 45-plant “collective garden.” Some medical marijuana storefronts have used a broad interpretation of that provision to form networks of collective gardens, with off-the-street patients signing into an open slot in a garden.The state law allows local governments to regulate medical marijuana operations. Seattle, home to more than 140 medical marijuana-related businesses, lightly regulates them, requiring only basic business business licenses and compliance with city building safety codes.Earlier this week, three people involved in running two Seattle dispensaries pleaded guilty to federal drug-dealing charges following raids on several storefronts in November.The raids come as Washington voters will be considering legalizing, taxing and regulating recreational marijuana use. Durkan hasn’t spoken out on the measure, Initiative 502, except to remind voters that marijuana remains illegal under federal law.From The Seattle Times BlogSource: Seattle Times (WA)Author: Jonathan MartinPublished: August 23, 2012Copyright: 2012 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/o3LszRzyCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by schmeff on August 25, 2012 at 14:15:59 PT
I'm Surprised the DEA's Mission Includes...
...enforcing zoning laws. Does federal law trump state rights when it comes to zoning?What you're seeing here is an unconstitutional, illegal rogue agency run rampant. The DEA imagines itself to be the final arbiter of ALL THINGS.DEA = Dictating Everyone's AgendaI'd like to see the DEA disbanded. Whatever their function is supposed to be, they're doing a piss-poor job at it. "Enforcing Drugs?"... what the heck does that even mean? All in all, a meaningless parasitic organization doing meaningless work.It would be nice to see all of those lard-asses at the DEA doing some meaningful work for which they are qualified, like cleaning toilets at the mental institutions.
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on August 24, 2012 at 22:23:11 PT
Prohibitionists Are Parasites
They steal the life force of people who are trying to build the future. These parasites do not produce anything useful. They squawk like Henny Penny that the sky is falling. They bleed peoples livelihood like leeches. Maybe Obama is letting the DEA have their head in order to encourage them to show their true ugly colors. This should motivate activists to join ranks with different activists and to go to the polls and vote for legalization. All Together Now - The Beatles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1DEtRxLsKMIf anybodies think Mitt would allow cannabis to grow and prosper, they have their heads in the sand. Goodbye labor rights, healthcare rights, womens rights, social security in Mitt's dream government. Hello, banana capitalism with big business pirating what's left of America. See you in the hot fields of the plantation slaving for third world pay in Mitt's 1%-er entitlement program, paid for by the taxpayer chumps.Youth Of The Nation - P.O.D. [HQ] 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vq_WDf6NT0&feature=relatedLove to you all!
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Comment #5 posted by runruff on August 24, 2012 at 18:11:59 PT
Durkin and his ilk.
They view God with a small gee.
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on August 24, 2012 at 17:48:10 PT
Cannabis is legal under God's law.
Quoted: Durkan ... remind(s) voters that marijuana ( and calls it a drug) remains illegal under federal law.-0-I'd like to remind Durkan, God created the plant for man and animals saying it's good, on the very 1st page of the Bible; that is God's law.Cannabis is legal under God's law. Cannabis prohibition and extermination is the devil law.Durkan doesn't work for God...
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on August 24, 2012 at 09:46:07 PT
It's pretty danged astounding...
that part of our fight has turned out to be to keep crazy people from completely destroying one of the most beneficial plants on the face of the earth. That's so strange.Originally, for me, speaking up was about being outraged that they were killing and robbing and greatly harming people over this plant. But another disturbing aspect of it all is that the lunatics in the world do wish to wipe out one of the world's most beneficial plants. It's so strange. I don't think even they, the hardcore prohibitionists can tell you why they are so freaked out.
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on August 24, 2012 at 09:19:25 PT
Labor Day MI Bridge walk
http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/topic/40899-hemp-and-marijuana-prohibition-to-be-decried-during-2012-mackinac-bridge-walk/page__pid__402236#entry402236this next story is on how easy it has been to see hemp plants during the worst drought
we have faced in our lifetime. This story should be talked about in every farm meeting
around the country as we are destroying our hemp seed reserves, spending huge
amounts of LEO time and resources -- when new tech is currently being built to use cellulose in ethanol.http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/topic/40930-indiana-police-cite-drought-for-marijuana-finds/page__pid__402568#entry402568http://brownfieldagnews.com/2011/07/01/dupont-danisco-cellulosic-ethanol-takes-next-step/
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on August 24, 2012 at 05:27:30 PT
"The raids come as Washington voters will be
considering legalizing, taxing and regulating recreational marijuana use. Durkan hasn’t spoken out on the measure, Initiative 502, except to remind voters that marijuana remains illegal under federal law."Good! So the raids will make people vote for legalization, except that when it is voted in, the usual "remains illegal under federal law." is mentioned.So why vote for it, if, just like the prop. 215 the feds do not recognize it anyway?This is how cannabis/marijuana and hemp will remain illegal forever, elections and voting be damned! Is this democracy?
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