Local Marijunana Dispensary Still Running Despite Federal Crackdown

The announcement of a crackdown by federal prosecutors on medical marijuana collectives throughout California has not affected G3 Holistics Inc., said Aaron Sandusky, president of the cooperative.

Last week, federal prosecutors warned medical marijuana collectives throughout the state they must shut down within 45 days or face civil and/or criminal prosecution.

As of Monday, the collective, which has a facility just blocks from, and serves, Loma Linda, had not received any notices, he said.

“Really what they did was target a few in Long Beach and San Diego that were very close to schools and parks ... they sent out notices to those owners and landlords,” Sandusky said. “And they wanted to reiterate that they still consider marijuana an illegal substance and that no one is really safe.”

The warning is part of a new federal crackdown on the state's medical marijuana industry, which includes huge commercial grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of retail stores in Southern California and across the state even though the federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits the sale and distribution of cannabis.

“It is important to note that for-profit, commercial marijuana operations are illegal not only under federal law, but also under California law,'' U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said. “While California law permits collective cultivation of marijuana in limited circumstances, it does not allow commercial distribution through the store front model we see across California.”

The typical medical marijuana dispensary sells pot solely for the purpose of recreational use, he said. “That is not what California voters intended.”

Sandusky said he was frustrated by how authorities seemed unwilling to work with cooperatives. He has always insisted that he and any dispensary managers worth their salt, are interested in addressing concerns that authorities have, including any crime that pops up around dispensaries and recreational use.

And whether they accept it or not, Sandusky said the efforts to shut down the dispensaries do go against the will of the voters who approved the Compassionate Use Act in 1996 California, which decriminalized marijuana for medical use, although it has remained a federal crime to possess or sell it. President Barack Obama said the federal government would not prosecute medical marijuana users.

Medical marijuana advocates say the Department of Justice's newly announced stance is “harmful and unnecessary” to patients who use the drug as part of their treatment regimen.

“Aggressive tactics like these are a completely inappropriate use of prosecutorial discretion by the Obama administration,” said Joe Elford, a lawyer with Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group. “President Obama must answer for his contradictory policy.”

The real victims are the members of the cooperatives who invest their money and their health in the cooperatives. But Sandusky said he’s paid out thousands to defend against court action and attempts by the cities of Colton and Upland to shut down his two facilities. But he remains in operation while his case works its way through the court system.

Laura E. Duffy, the U.S. Attorney in San Diego, said it should be noted
that illegal marijuana grow operations often found flourishing on federal land create “significant negative consequences” and result in “a very serious
public safety issue.”

Federal prosecutors said warning letters had been sent to the operators
and landlords of dozens of marijuana dispensaries in the the store, and forfeiture actions were filed against properties where owners allow pot stores to operate.

Those receiving letters were warned that the stores are in violation of federal law and that they have less than two months to “take the necessary steps to discontinue the sale and/or distribution of marijuana.”

Birotte said all known marijuana stores in the following areas were
notified:

• Orange County in Lake Forest, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Rancho Santa Margarita
• Los Angeles County in Pomona and Claremont
• Riverside County in Murrieta, Wildomar and Temecula
• San Bernardino County in Upland, Montclair and Chino

The letters note that the operation of a marijuana store “may result in criminal prosecution, imprisonment, fines and forfeiture of assets, including the real property on which the dispensary is operating and any money you receive (or have received) from the dispensary operator.”

Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar introduced legislation asking the City Attorney's Office to advise and update the council on the legal ramifications of the federal medical marijuana crackdown in light of an appeals court's preliminary ruling limiting Los Angeles' ability to regulate the collectives.

“Given the federal government's announcement to prosecute medical marijuana collectives and the recent court action that will directly affect what Los Angeles medical marijuana ordinance can and cannot do, the Los Angeles City Council needs to be updated so we can consider all legal options available to us,'' Huizar said.