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Feds Crack Down On Pot Dispensaries

Feds Crack Down On Pot Dispensaries
Federal officials are warning California medical marijuana dispensaries they must shut down within 45 days or face criminal prosecution and having their property confiscated.

A federal crackdown by the Obama Administration on medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego and other California cities is under way.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in San Diego has sent a letter to a dozen local pot dispensaries ordering them to shut down. Meanwhile, San Diego's city attorney has ordered nine of those medical-pot shops to close their doors because they're within 600 feet of schools, a violation of California guidelines.

These "close-shop" orders come in conjunction with a federal judge's ruling on Thursday to close pot dispensaries in Long Beach.

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Duffy in San Diego, will join California's other three U.S. Attorneys in a news conference on Friday announcing their coordinated effort to apparently close all of the state's medical marijuana establishments

Federal officials are warning California medical marijuana dispensaries they must shut down within 45 days or face criminal prosecution and having their property confiscated.

They state that federal law "takes precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling pot.

A spokesman for the advocacy group Americans for Safe Access said the actions appear to be an attempt by the Obama Administration to curb medical marijuana on multiple fronts and through multiple agencies.

Corrected: April 19, 2024 at 4:01 PM PDT
The Associated Press contributed to this story.