As you may know, the Federal Government is now attempting to crack down on Colorado medical marijuana dispensaries and other medical marijuana businesses. Last week, the Feds sent letters to several medical marijuana businesses that were located within 1000 feet of a school. The letters instructed the businesses to close within 45 days or face federal prosecution and civil forfeiture. The Feds are also targeting the landlords.
By way of review, the Feds purported authority over state medical marijuana programs stems from a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court Case, Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1, click here to review the case document.
A close reading of this case reveals that Colorado medical marijuana business regulations are very different from California.
Recall that medical marijuana businesses in Colorado must be owned by two year state residents, there is no reciprocity for out-of-state medical patients and the state requires that the businesses grow their own medicine under strict state supervision. This scheme could possibly carve out an exception to federal authority over Colorado medical marijuana.
Now if we only had an attorney general who was interested in supporting Colorado citizens and Colorado laws instead of taking pot shots at Obamacare…stay tuned.