Now Obamas Crew Going After Advertisers

[wiesseweed]

it is absolutely stunning to me how OUT OF TOUCH this administration is. i always assumed that as time went by, and we had a president who was well adept to the information age, that cannabis laws would change. how wrong i was. what a joke!

 

[supermanlives]

Now don't you growin folks who never registered feel a little a little bit relieved, maybe just a little?

i got my rec ,thats it. i aint registering anything. i aint making it easy for em.

 

[Tony Aroma]

It's looking more and more to me like Obama may be going too far with this latest escalation of the drug war. First threatening gun owners and now the media. Seems like they are the last groups that he would want to alienate and/or piss off. Unlike dispensary owners and terminal cancer patients, they are both are fully capable of fighting back. And they both love a good fight.

The media have always loved and supported the drug war. And why not? It's chock full of exciting headlines and stories. But I think as soon as they become casualties rather than just observers, the media might change their tune. Then who's the government going to use to spread their propaganda?

As always, when you're unsure about the consequences of your actions, look to the past. This reminds me of that over-ambitious PA prosecutor who wanted to make an example of Tommy Chong. Instead, she revived his career and made him a hero to a whole new generation. Never fails, when you try to make an example of someone, the best you can hope for it to make them a martyr.

If nothing else, I think this latest escalation is going to unite some diverse groups against the president and the feds.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

to borrow a phrase, 'the plot sickens'

Decision To Crack Down On Medical Marijuana Made In California, Not Washington, U.S. Attorney Says.

Lucia Graves - First Posted: 10/16/11 09:30 AM ET Updated: 10/16/11 01:17 PM ET

WASHINGTON -- The decision to crack down on medical pot establishments in the Golden State was a collective decision by four U.S. attorneys in California and not the result of any directive from Washington, according to a spokesman for California-based U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr.

Federal prosecutors launched an attack on medical marijuana shop owners last week, vowing to shutter state-licensed marijuana dispensaries regulated by local governments and threatening landlords with property seizures.

The announcement came in spite of the Obama administration's campaign promise to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics adhering to state law, with Attorney General Eric Holder publicly asserting that federal prosecutors would not initiate enforcement actions against any patients or providers in compliance with state law, deeming it an inefficient use of scarce government resources.

Now California-based U.S. attorneys are taking on the battle themselves.

"There was no particular incident that prompted our enforcement actions," Thom Mrozek, spokesman for Birotte, told HuffPost in an email on Friday. "Across the state, we have seen a fairly significant increase in the problem over the past couple of years. And, at least in our district, our actions were prompted in part by widespread concern among local officials – the City of Lake Forest is a particularly good example of this."

On Thursday the owners of eight Lake Forest medical marijuana shops were given three days to close operations. Birotte said the shops were targeted because they violated a zoning ordinance and the city had already spent almost $600,000 in legal fees to have them removed.

Other dispensaries could simply be taxed out of existence.

Last month, Harborside Health Center lost a high-stakes battle with the Internal Revenue Service, in a ruling that could have dire consequences for the thriving California industry. The IRS has ruled pot clinics cannot deduct operating expenses from their tax returns, recently informing Harborside, a dispensary where medical marijuana patients can buy legal cannabis in Oakland and San Jose, that it owed $2.5 million in taxes, a full $2 million more than the the 83,000-member dispensary actually paid.

"The areas in which the initial warnings have been sent are all areas where local officials have taken steps to eliminate marijuana stores and have asked the federal government for assistance," Mrozek told HuffPost, adding that the United States Attorney’s Office will continue to work with local municipalities and local law enforcement throughout California's central district to assist in ongoing efforts to combat commercial marijuana operations.

Last week three pot shops in San Francisco were targeted by California's U.S. attorneys, with dispensary landlords receiving threatening letters from Northern District U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, who cited increasing federal penalties for drug activity within 1,000 feet of school zones and other public spaces, even as some of the city's clubs were exempted under a grandfathering system.

But there appears to be no evidence that the intervention was provoked at the behest of local officials. San Francisco city officials, when contacted by The Huffington Post, could not confirm they had put in any requests with Haag's office.

Federal prosecutors have also suggested the industry has been hijacked by pot profiteers.

"All the evidence indicates that the marijuana stores in California are for-profit enterprises, which is one reason why we’re using term 'stores' for these operations," Mrozek said. "I am not saying that there are no true non-profit collectives involving only patients and their primary caregivers that are operating stores – there may be, but we have not seen one yet. This statement is based on numerous federal investigations, as well as numerous investigations and prosecutions by local officials throughout the state."

While none of the dispensaries are IRS approved 501(c) nonprofits, many, like Harborside, a state registered not-for-profit corporation, say they go out of their way to give significant revenue back to the community by donating to local charities.

Earlier this week, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy, whose district includes San Diego County, announced plans to target newspaper and radio outlets advertising medical marijuana. "I'm not just seeing print advertising, I'm actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising," she said in an interview with California Watch and KQED. "It's gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate – one has to wonder what kind of message we're sending to our children."

But the three other U.S. attorneys charged with enforcing state laws have not signaled support for Duffy's line of attack.

"Our office is not targeting newspapers or publications that accept advertising money from the medication marijuana industry," Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of California, told HuffPost on Friday.

Meanwhile, legalization advocates say they fear Obama administration officials will be too busy to intervene. Tom Angell, spokesman for legalization advocacy group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, explains:

I think it's mostly a case of aloofness on the part of the president and his closest advisers. My hunch is that this is the doing of career drug war bureaucrats somewhere in the DoJ who are quite terrified of the increasing public acceptance of regulated marijuana distribution. They've made a calculation - sadly correct so far - that the president doesn't care enough about this issue to intervene. Unfortunately for the president, though, voters are going to blame him at the ballot box.​

Others insist the directives did in fact come from Washington.
"I don't believe that for a second," said Steve De Angelo, executive director of Harborside, when told federal prosecutors said the decision for a crackdown was made in California. "The recent actions by the U.S. attorneys in California are part of what appears to be a coordinated multi-agency assault by the federal government on the entire medical cannabis community, and that assault seems to be directed at systems of regulated and licensed systems of cultivation and distribution."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/crackdown-medical-marijuana-california_n_1011780.html

 

[Hammerhead]

The fed's have fuked up the world with there own agenda... We are all fucked until something happens... I see big problems coming very soon.. I hope we are all prepared for it.... be safe my friends

 

[RetroGrow]

I found this part particularly disturbing:
"This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana. Now, newspapers and other media outlets could be next.""

So now they will hold landlords responsible for the actions of those they rent to? This is fear mongering, and probably will make landlords pay more attention to what their tenants are doing.
Not good for those of us who rent, or are thinking of renting. Things just keep getting worse, not better.
Obama is one hell of a con man.
I know they are saying this is not a Federal thing, but why would we believe a word they say?
They just cannot let go of this "forbidden fruit" thing.
It's biblical in it's proportions.

 

[Hammerhead]

I think Obama knows he is out.. I was duped by his lies and voted for him.. Believe me it will not happen again.. I'm done with Democratic and republicans.. We need a tea party Pres like Ron Paul..I just hope he lives long enough to make some changes...

 

[BrnCow]

Absolutly shocking how far reaching this is.

btw u should post the actual article, alot of ic members dont feel comfortable clicking external links.

Okay...here it is...

Print|Email
You Can't Say That on TV: U.S. Attorney Promises to Target Medical Marijuana Advertising

Peter Suderman | October 12, 2011

The Obama administration isn't just cracking down on individuals and organizations that sell medical marijuana. It's now threatening to go after publishers and broadcasters that run ads for pot dispensaries in a state where medical marijuana is legal.

Federal prosecutors are preparing to target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries in California, another escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry.
This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana. Now, newspapers and other media outlets could be next.
U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy, whose district includes Imperial and San Diego counties, said marijuana advertising is the next area she's "going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California." Duffy said she could not speak for the three other U.S. attorneys covering the state, but noted their efforts have been coordinated so far.
"I'm not just seeing print advertising," Duffy said in an interview with California Watch and KQED. "I'm actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising. It's gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate – one has to wonder what kind of message we're sending to our children – it's against the law."
​

Of course, she means that it's against federal law. California voters approved the legalization of medical marijuana in 1996. The difference ought to matter; in 2008, President Obama promised that when it came to medical marijuana, he wouldn't interfere with local legalization. "I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue," he said. But as Senior Editor Jacob Sullum noted this morning, four U.S. attorneys in California announced last week that they would be stepping up enforcement against the state's medical pot distributors.
Duffy has apparently taken that as a license to go after publishers as well:

Duffy said she believes the law gives her the right to prosecute newspaper publishers or TV station owners.
"If I own a newspaper ... or I own a TV station, and I'm going to take in your money to place these ads, I'm the person who is placing these ads," Duffy said. "I am willing to read (the law) expansively and if a court wants to more narrowly define it, that would be up to the court."
​

Why the sudden burst of enforcement action? Has someone been hurt by the advertising, or by the dispensaries that buy ad space? Later in the article, Duffy allows that the law that legalized medical marijuana had "good intentions." But those good intensions, she tells California Watch, "have almost completely been taken over by people who are trying to use that permission law to get rich, to distribute marijuana and traffic drugs to people who aren't sick, to our youth and to people who are using drugs on a recreational basis." As Sullum noted, the focus on profit would seem to suggest that the recent crackdown won't apply to the state's many non-profit dispensaries. But that seems unlikely (at best) since although many of the state's pot clubs claim nonprofit status, federal prosecutors, according to the San Jose Mercury News, have "disputed that assertion, leaving unclear which outfits they might consider legitimate." What's most telling about Duffy's laundry list of non-horrors, though, is that altough she decries pot-seller profits and sales to recreational users, she doesn't even attempt to describe any actual harm caused by either. Perhaps that's because there is none.
Read Jacob Sullum's October 2011 cover story on how President Obama turned out to be just another drug warrior.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

... I know they are saying this is not a Federal thing, but why would we believe a word they say?

I'm not experiencing belief in anything other than the facts presented in the article. Any opines after the fact are open for suggestion. If you wish to believe otherwise it's your prerogative.

IMO, some of the feds are culpable. IMO, some the locals are culpable. The article states that some Cali AGs aren't going after mmj like the 4 hotdogs mentioned. The article goes on to reference local interference that doesn't parallel fed actions.

Whether this eventually translates to all Cali AGs is speculative.

I don't expect you to hold out hope, it's you decision not mine.

I just like to objectify the facts to draw the clearest conclusions. Obviously this hasn't played out and we'll see more actions taken. Not surprising when people are growing with no local permits and or circumventing taxes. You can't manufacture nor distribute alcohol w/o the right circumstances. No reason to think an otherwise illegal substance would be treated any different by law enforcement.

Do I like it? No but that's a different issue.

 

[kifmaster]

wow, bye weedmaps.com