Jul 17, 2007 10:17 am US/Pacific
Feds Issue Warnings For LA Marijuana Dispensaries
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Activists suspect that the logistics and timing -- more than a decade after state voters legalized medical marijuana with the passage of Proposition 215 -- is intended to thin the ranks of Los Angeles dispensaries on the eve of new city regulations.
Raising the stakes in their war against medical pot, federal officials have warned more than 150 L.A. landlords that they risk arrest and the loss of their properties if they continue renting to marijuana dispensaries, it was reported Tuesday.
The two-page letter sent last week by Timothy J. Landrum, Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office, has whipped up worries among landlords and dispensary operators in a region where dispensaries have proliferated in the last two years, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"I'm devastated," Lisa Sawoya, who left her lucrative job selling high-tech hospital equipment to open a dispensary 18 months ago in Hollywood, told The Times. "...I'll be closing my doors at the end of this month."
Sarah Pullen, a DEA spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said the purpose of the letters was to "educate" property owners at risk.
"By renting their property to individuals violating fed drug laws, they are in and of themselves violating federal law," Pullen told The Times. "These are definitely meant to serve as a notice."
The DEA move has focused entirely on Los Angeles, The Times reported. Activists suspect that the logistics and timing -- more than a decade after state voters legalized medical marijuana with the passage of Proposition 215 -- is intended to thin the ranks of Los Angeles dispensaries on the eve of new city regulations.
A proposed city ordinance would cap and regulate the number of outlets, which now number more than 400.
Medical marijuana activists say most of the landlords take the threat seriously and have asked the dispensaries to move out.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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