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By John Hoeffel, Los Angeles Times
October 7, 2011
Federal prosecutors are threatening to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California, sending letters that warn landlords to stop sales of the drug within 45 days or face the possibility that their property will be seized and they will be charged with a crime.

The federal government is planning to close medical marijuana dispensaries in California

Earl Stein's "Organic Pharmacy" is one of more than 400 medical-marijuana dispensaries the City Council aimed to shut down with an ordinance that took effect recently. But he hasn't closed up shop completely. He has merely removed his marijuana inventory for now, and hopes discrimination lawsuits filed against the city by himself and other dispensary operators will force officials to let him resume the trade....

Credit cards are no longer being accepted at California medical marijuana dispensaries -- thanks to pressure from the federal government. Someone -- likely the Treasury Department -- has informed credit card companies that they must no longer process credit card transactions involving medical marijuana, according to SF Weekly.

The Los Angeles City Council decided unanimously on Tuesday to ban all storefront medical marijuana shops, in a blow to a industry that operates in violation of federal law but has become the largest collection of pot dispensaries in California. The 14-0 vote by the council comes after conflicting court decisions on how far local jurisdictions in California can go in cracking down on the cannabis shops. Some observers say the issue could end up before the state's Supreme Court.

The 110 medical marijuana dispensaries in San Jose will be reduced to only ten after a city council vote to impose new restrictions on pot clubs.

A vote that came in early Tuesday evening would limit the city to only ten dispensaries and only two such establishments per district. The new regulation would also require that marijuana be grown on site at the dispensaries.

More than 400 dispensaries are under orders to close in accordance with the city's news medical marijuana ordinance. Eventually, the city hopes to whittle the number of pot shops down to 70 and to limit outlets to industrial areas.

Judge: Landlords must allow pot dispensaries, and FEDs can then confiscate property. Is this a backdoor way to get eminent domain? Is this "legal"? County courts offer various results, City of Oakland to go against FEDs saying to close it "would create a public safety problem by encouraging a black market for marijuana." Confusion abounds.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Judge-Landlords-can-t-stop-pot-sal...

Fearmongers in Colorado are out to run Medical Cannabis (Marijuana) Dispensaries out of business by regulating them to death. How will the army of "armed auditors" (as the bill's author brazenly refers to them) be funded? Higher fees will be charged the MMJ community. There's nothing quite like making a man pay the executioner for the noose he will use to murder him.