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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsReefer Madness gets even more mad
ST. LOUIS, June 12 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - Federal prosecutors are targeting medical marijuana shops in California, seeking forfeiture of the properties in which they do business.
The authorities are pressuring landlords to shut down the shops or face possible loss of the real estate through the unconventional and low-key use of a civil statute designed primarily to seize the assets of drug-trafficking organizations.
While some states, including California, have legalized medical marijuana businesses, the federal government does not recognize their authority to do so and has targeted the shops for violations of the 40-year-old Controlled Substances Act.
The goal of the Justice Department's effort, part of a crackdown announced last October, is to fight the medical marijuana industry, estimated at $1.7 billion annually, without confronting it head-on with costly and potentially embarrassing criminal prosecutions, industry sources and legal experts said. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/us-usa-marijuana-landlords-idUSBRE85D0JA20120614?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews
xchrom
(108,903 posts)CrispyQ
(36,582 posts)snip...
Baldwin, who specializes in complex commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense, added that with all four U.S. attorneys in California employing the same strategy, it is clearly official Justice Department policy rather than an anomaly involving rogue prosecutors.
The new approach stems from Justice's difficult position under President Barack Obama, said Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
The department cannot rely on heavy-handed criminal prosecutions to combat medical marijuana, St. Pierre said. But it also cannot ignore the issue and risk being labeled soft on drug crime.
"It's being done softly, because if they tried to go the harsh criminal route there is a very good chance they would not only fail but become even more unpopular, something you tend to not want to do going into your last election," he said.
Colorado has a bill on the ballot this fall that would legalize small amounts MJ for rec use. I think Obama is being very short sighted on this issue.
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)from millions of potential reefer zombies munching down everything in our pantries before crashing on our couches.
lame54
(35,361 posts)This election is going to suck
Jail pot smokers and poker players
fly robots around the world bombing civilians - oh wait - we will just call the civilians enemy combatants - problem solved
SHRED
(28,136 posts)..."the lesser of two evils".
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lame54
(35,361 posts)we voted for Hope & Change?
SHRED
(28,136 posts)...as I vote for him.
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)WingDinger
(3,690 posts)So that those that require Marijuana meds are made homeless if revealed, and told no if they asked. So, sure it is legal, but extinct.
tech3149
(4,452 posts)You don't even have to be charged with a criminal offense to have your property to be seized. Have too much cash in your pocket? Well that's suspect because no one really needs to carry that much cash unless it's for nefarious purposes.
PD's around the country are fattening their coffers through asset forfeiture and as Bart says in essence " any action that provides you with more power or wealth will be continued until it becomes a problem"
If you enjoy good fiction with a base in reality, read Dark Rivers of the Heart. It really shows how the powers of the government and asset forfeiture can be used to break even the most honest person.
SHRED
(28,136 posts)Is he trying to lose in November??
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)You don't mess with pharmaceutical companies. They will not allow anything to threaten the trapped market they currently hold. Nay, they have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders to ensure that profits are not threatened.
Can't just have people growing medicine in the backyard or getting it from some hippie co-op arrangement. That's why we have never had a conclusive study done on the health effects of MJ. They've only had a hundred years to do it. Meanwhile whatever the corporations can come up with to treat restless leg or make your eyelashes grow and that may cause your stomach to bleed and your hair to fall out in a couple years gets a quick OK and is hustled out to all the pharmaceutical pimps across the country.
They always pull this crap out about "caring about people". The same way we kill poor people to "liberate them". All they care about is the money. All Wall St cares about is money. At any cost and by any means necessary. We will never be able to solve the problems facing us when people keep faithfully pledging support to the very institutions robbing us blind. Never. Your either with the corporations or your against them. Your either an investor who prefers to make a little money than save what little forests, clean water or even human rights we have left or your someone who believes we need to defend those things for tomorrows people. You can't be both.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)the more risk, the greater the expense.
the market is not going away - but the state continues to be unable to collect taxes related to the business.