Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jun 2013
Source: Stranger, The (Seattle, WA)
Copyright: 2013 The Stranger
Contact:  http://www.thestranger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2241
Author: Ben Livingston

WHO WILL RENT OUT THEIR STOREFRONT TO A POT BUSINESS?

Landlords May Have to Incriminate Themselves

Any entrepreneur who wants to open a pot business in Washington State 
will start with a fairly straightforward application process: submit 
fingerprints, disclose criminal history, share an operating plan that 
names financial backers, and promise that taxes are paid up. But then 
the draft rules issued by the Washington State Liquor Control Board 
last month list this unusual requirement: "a signed affidavit from 
the landlord acknowledging the leased premises will be used as a 
marijuana business."

This last demand could be a problem if implemented by the liquor 
board. Critics say it amounts to landlords incriminating themselves, 
the sort of obstacle that could hamper many retail-pot business plans.

Seattle attorney Kurt Boehl, who specializes in defending marijuana 
cases, says that federal drug-forfeiture laws provide what is called 
an "innocent owner defense." Any property used to facilitate a drug 
crime can be seized, but federal law allows a landlord to plead 
ignorance as an "affirmative defense" to such charges. "Unless they 
are partners, they are an innocent owner," Boehl says.

But sign an affidavit saying you are fully aware of the federal law 
violations occurring on your leased property, and the story is 
different. "Requiring this would eliminate that defense completely," 
Boehl says.

I spoke to a Seattle landlord, Pat-he asked that we use a fake name 
to protect his anonymity-who is interested in renting to legal pot 
businesses. Proposed zoning rules from the City of Seattle and 
regulations in Initiative 502 will make his property among the 
relatively few locations where pot shops can legally open, so he 
considers the possible profit worth the risk. But Pat has never heard 
of a landlord signing such an affidavit, and he hopes the liquor 
board will modify that requirement. "With the city shrinking the 
number of places that people can run these businesses, I'm expecting 
the property value of these types of places to go up."

Boehl says federal prosecutors haven't pursued landlords who were not 
"directly involved in the illegal activity." Still, he suggests 
risk-averse landlords avoid attesting to federal law violations. 
"Arguably, it could make them complicit or a coconspirator in a 
federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act violation."

Anonymous landlord Pat agrees: "This is not for the faint of heart."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom