Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2012
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2012 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Authors: Maureen O'hagan And Jonathan Martin

DEA TO MEDICAL-POT SHOPS: GET AWAY FROM SCHOOLS NOW

23 Dispensaries

At Issue: Within 1,000 Feet of an 'Educational Facility or Other 
Prohibited Area'

For the past few years, as businesses associated with medical 
marijuana have proliferated in Western Washington, federal 
prosecutors have taken mostly a hands-off approach.

On Thursday, however, the feds issued the clearest threat yet to 23 
medical-cannabis dispensaries in the region: Shut down or else. The 
issue was their location, within 1,000 feet of an "educational 
facility or other prohibited area."

In letters sent by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the 
targeted businesses were warned they could be charged criminally if 
they didn't close within 30 days. Their property, including profits 
and the buildings themselves, could also be seized under federal law, 
which prohibits the sale of marijuana, the letters warned. They were 
sent to both the business operators and their landlords.

"Please take the necessary steps to discontinue the sale and/or 
distribution of marijuana ...," reads the letter, signed by Matthew 
G. Barnes, special agent in charge of Seattle's DEA office. He warned 
more dispensaries may be targeted.

Neither the DEA nor the U.S. Attorney's Office, which supported the 
action, would release the names of the 23 dispensaries or even 
disclose which cities they're in. Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for 
the U.S. Attorney's Office, said releasing the information would be 
"inappropriate," since the businesses had not yet received the letters.

"We need to enforce one message for our students: Drugs have no place 
in or near our schools," U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said in a news release.

The action follows a pattern elsewhere in the country. Dozens of such 
warnings were sent in Colorado, and those dispensaries closed or 
moved. In California, more than 300 letters have been sent out, 
primarily targeting businesses near schools.

The U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington sent warnings to 55 
businesses and landlords in April 2011 after hearing complaints about 
nine dispensaries operating near schools, including one with a large 
billboard two blocks from an elementary school. Those that didn't 
shut down were raided before the 30-day time period was up.

"I think the federal government has sent a pretty clear message in 
the last couple of years that they're just not going to tolerate 
cannabis distribution within 1,000 feet of schools," said Kurt Boehl, 
an attorney who represents medical-marijuana businesses.

"Since we're seeing such a proliferation in Seattle maybe they're 
just trying to regulate that a little bit," he added.

Dispensaries have sprung up, in part, because authorized patients say 
it's hard to grow marijuana themselves.

Washington's medical marijuana law doesn't authorize them, however. 
An effort to legalize and regulate them passed the state Legislature 
last year but was vetoed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, leaving Washington 
with one of the most unregulated medical-marijuana industries in the country.

Seattle, home to more than 140 medical-marijuana-related businesses, 
lightly regulates them, requiring only basic business licenses and 
compliance with city building-safety codes.

"The dispensaries that are located within 1,000 feet of schools are 
fair game for federal action, as the owners/operators know and have 
been told by the city," Kimberly Mills, communications director for 
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, said in an email.

The City Council will hold public meetings to consider zoning 
restrictions this fall.

Aaron Pelley, a medical cannabis attorney, said finding a spot 
outside a 1,000-foot radius can be challenging - and confusing, as 
it's not always clear where "prohibited areas" are.

"The problem in Washington is we don't have a dispensary law," said 
Alison Holcomb, campaign manager for Initiative 502, a November 
ballot measure that would legalize marijuana. "Dispensary owners are 
at a loss to know how best to regulate their activities."

The letters continue a trend in medical-marijuana states of federal 
authorities primarily using civil, not criminal, enforcement against 
dispensaries. Federal tax audits, restricted access to banking and 
threats of property forfeiture have "a chilling effect" for 
medical-marijuana operators, said Kris Hermes, spokesman for 
Americans for Safe Access, a national medical marijuana advocacy group.

In some cases, dispensaries have closed out of fear they could be 
targeted, said Hermes. "It has had a pretty devastating effect."

I-502 requires marijuana storefronts to be outside the 1,000-foot boundaries.

In Seattle, a medical-marijuana trade group has recommended 
storefronts stay at least 500 feet from schools, but the city's 
density makes that difficult, said Greta Carter, executive director 
of Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics, which has tried to 
set voluntary compliance standards for dispensaries. "It's something 
we've always struggled with," she said.

She questions why the same rules don't apply to places like Walgreens.

"If we have the right security and controls in place, it shouldn't be 
an issue, any more than a drugstore," she said.

Several Seattle dispensary operators contacted Thursday said they had 
not received a letter but had feared federal authorities would take 
this approach. One dispensary operator, who didn't want her name used 
because she has young children in school, said she tried to ensure 
her storefront location was not in a school zone before opening.

"I would totally move if I got a letter. I want do the right thing," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom