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A federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries is expanding to target the many mobile delivery services that have sprouted up around San Diego County in recent months, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official said Tuesday.
The rise of the mobile business model stems from federal authorities targeting the storefront operations in the county but is considered just as illegal, said DEA Special Agent Amy Roderick.
“This is their new gig to try to skirt the law,” Roderick said.
Authorities did not provide details about how they will target the delivery services or when. The DEA will work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Decisions to proceed with prosecutions will be decided on the merits and federal interest,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
The crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries began in earnest in San Diego and Imperial counties in October 2011, when U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy sent warning letters to 250 storefronts ordering them to shut down. Letters were also sent to the outlets’ landlords, warning them that their properties could go into foreclosure if the dispensaries continued to operate.
State voters approved the personal use and cultivation of medicinal marijuana in 1996, but marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Today, 18 storefronts remain open, and the DEA said there are plans to close them all by the summer’s end.
“They have had ample time to understand the letters, so when they don’t close, they can’t be surprised when we show up at their door,” Roderick said.
Many of the shuttered businesses have turned to delivery services instead, Roderick said, making them harder to track.
Authorities estimate there are dozens of marijuana delivery services operating in the county now. They are seen in magazine advertisements and have been the source of citizen complaints in recent months, she said.
The delivery drivers have also been the target of armed robbers who are seeking cash and drugs.
In one incident in Imperial Beach last month, a marijuana deliveryman was stopped by assailants armed with handguns after making a stop. He was robbed of cash, sheriff’s officials said.
In Temecula earlier this month, a driver was robbed of his pot delivery and $400 cash outside a Denny’s restaurant. The driver then chased the robbers in his pickup, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said.
The danger of being robbed has led many of the drivers to reportedly carry weapons or have armed guards as protection, Roderick said.
Jessica McElfresh, an attorney who represents medical marijuana patients, said patients and employees would likely be safer if the medical marijuana business were regulated, partly because robbery victims would feel more comfortable reporting crimes to police.
McElfresh said she rejects the characterization that the dispensaries are breaking state law and said the government’s tactics are preventing patients from getting needed medicine.
“Every one of these steps actually pushes people in the hands of drug dealers,” McElfresh said.
In a January interview with the U-T San Diego editorial board, Duffy said her focus remains on going after “for profit” dispensaries, not personal cooperatives and backyard growers with a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana use.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: utsandiego.com
Author: Kristina Davis
Contact: San Diego News, Local, California and National News | UTSanDiego.com
Website: Feds to target medical pot deliveries | UTSanDiego.com
The rise of the mobile business model stems from federal authorities targeting the storefront operations in the county but is considered just as illegal, said DEA Special Agent Amy Roderick.
“This is their new gig to try to skirt the law,” Roderick said.
Authorities did not provide details about how they will target the delivery services or when. The DEA will work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Decisions to proceed with prosecutions will be decided on the merits and federal interest,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
The crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries began in earnest in San Diego and Imperial counties in October 2011, when U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy sent warning letters to 250 storefronts ordering them to shut down. Letters were also sent to the outlets’ landlords, warning them that their properties could go into foreclosure if the dispensaries continued to operate.
State voters approved the personal use and cultivation of medicinal marijuana in 1996, but marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Today, 18 storefronts remain open, and the DEA said there are plans to close them all by the summer’s end.
“They have had ample time to understand the letters, so when they don’t close, they can’t be surprised when we show up at their door,” Roderick said.
Many of the shuttered businesses have turned to delivery services instead, Roderick said, making them harder to track.
Authorities estimate there are dozens of marijuana delivery services operating in the county now. They are seen in magazine advertisements and have been the source of citizen complaints in recent months, she said.
The delivery drivers have also been the target of armed robbers who are seeking cash and drugs.
In one incident in Imperial Beach last month, a marijuana deliveryman was stopped by assailants armed with handguns after making a stop. He was robbed of cash, sheriff’s officials said.
In Temecula earlier this month, a driver was robbed of his pot delivery and $400 cash outside a Denny’s restaurant. The driver then chased the robbers in his pickup, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said.
The danger of being robbed has led many of the drivers to reportedly carry weapons or have armed guards as protection, Roderick said.
Jessica McElfresh, an attorney who represents medical marijuana patients, said patients and employees would likely be safer if the medical marijuana business were regulated, partly because robbery victims would feel more comfortable reporting crimes to police.
McElfresh said she rejects the characterization that the dispensaries are breaking state law and said the government’s tactics are preventing patients from getting needed medicine.
“Every one of these steps actually pushes people in the hands of drug dealers,” McElfresh said.
In a January interview with the U-T San Diego editorial board, Duffy said her focus remains on going after “for profit” dispensaries, not personal cooperatives and backyard growers with a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana use.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: utsandiego.com
Author: Kristina Davis
Contact: San Diego News, Local, California and National News | UTSanDiego.com
Website: Feds to target medical pot deliveries | UTSanDiego.com
