Shakedown From Feds Imperils Medicinal Marijuana

Not too long ago, critics were likening the medical marijuana movement in Santa Barbara to the cannabis culture equivalent of the Wild West: more dispensaries than Starbucks, no city oversight, and law enforcement without a clear mandate. Things have changed quickly, however, with the city stepping in earlier this spring to craft an ordinance outlining the dos and don’ts of dispensary operation. Now, just last week, the federal government’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) paid a visit to Santa Barbara and threatened the people who rent their properties to California-approved cannabis clubs with hefty fines, property seizure, and criminal charges for violation of federal law.

According to local attorney Joe Allen, who sat in on at least one of the several meetings between federal officials and landowners on August 5 and 6 at the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office, “In very clear terms, they said this is the last warning: The government is going to shut all of these clubs down and the government is going to prosecute anyone involved.”

The visits, which Santa Barbara District Attorney Christie Stanley coyly refused to confirm or deny, leave in their wake a questionable future for the eight or so medical marijuana shops that operate in Santa Barbara and the thousands of patients who visit them each week to seek relief from a wide variety of conditions. In the opinion of Allen, who is considered a go-to guy within the state for the hazy landscape of medical marijuana law, the heat turned up by the DEA this week has worked so well that he suspects “virtually every cannabis operator” will receive or has already received an eviction letter from his or her landlord.