Thin end of the wedge
Marijuana Moment
While shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, a U.S. attorney who recently warned a Washington, D.C. cannabis shop about potential federal law violations says his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”
In an interview with NBC4 that was released on Friday, Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin—who is currently going through a Senate confirmation process for the job—talked about his decision to send a letter to the owners of a dispensary that suggested they could face prosecution by the Trump administration’s Justice Department.
“Your dispensary appears to be operating in violation of federal law, and the Department of Justice has the authority to enforce federal law even when such activities may be permitted under state or local law,” the letter from Martin to Green Theory said.
“Persons and entities owning, operating, or facilitating such dispensaries (as well as premises grow centers),” it added, “may be subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions under federal law.”
The federal attorney said in the new interview that his action was prompted in part by messages he received from parents who complained about the proximity of the dispensary to certain schools. While compliant with D.C. rules, he said the distance violated the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act that prohibits cannabis shops within 1,000 feet of school campuses.
“You apply the facts to the law, but you do it in the context of what the community is going through at that moment,” he said.
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