Arizona Governor Jan Brewer killed Arizona’s medical marijuana dispensaries before the dispensaries even got to the starting gate.  The six lawsuits involving Arizona’s medical marijuana dispensary industry and cannabis clubs are slowly proceeding in court.  What happens in each of the lawsuits is not as important as the elephant in the medical marijuana room, which is that the United States has now made it clear even to the blind who will not see that the U.S. will prosecute people involved in selling medical marijuana any where in the U.S., including in states that have legalized it.  Here is the evidence:

• “New York Times: Federal Crackdown on Medical Pot Sales Reflects a Shift in Policy“

• “Feds Announce another Nail in Medical Marijuana Dispensaries’ Coffin – RIP“

• “IRS Claims Harborside Health Center Owes $2.5 Million in Back Taxes on Sales of $22 Million“

• “IRS is in the Early Stages of a War to Kill Medical Marijuana Dispensaries”

• “Will Humble & Other Arizona Medical Marijuana Law Pundits Bury Heads in Sand“

The U.S. Justice Department has said in no uncertain terms that it will do the following in all fifty states:

1. Prosecute people involved in selling medical marijuana to medical marijuana patients or caregivers.
2. Prosecute people involved in growing medical marijuana for the purpose of selling to medical marijuana patients and caregivers.
3. Prosecute landlords who lease real property to people or businesses that grow or sell marijuana on the premises.
4. Prosecute lenders who loan money to people or businesses that grow medical marijuana for distribution or that sell  marijuana to medical marijuana patients or caregivers.

It does not matter if the parties who want to establish medical marijuana dispensaries and cannabis clubs are successful in all six of the Arizona lawsuits.  Even if the six lawsuits authorize medical marijuana dispensaries and cannabis clubs in Arizona, the federal government will prosecute anyone involved in growing and selling marijuana – medical or recreational.

People involved  in the cannabis club industry should also be very afraid.  The only people who have any comfort from the U.S. Justice Department’s current medical marijuana policies are state approved medical marijuana patients and caregivers who do not sell marijuana.  Cannabis clubs do not fall in that category.  It is clear to me that the U.S. Justice Department’s policy is to prosecute everybody involved in growing, selling and distributing marijuana except patients and caregivers.

The end of the medical marijuana industry in the 16 states that have legalized medical marijuana is at hand.  Here are several articles that discuss the announcement by the four U.S. Attorneys for California that the United States will pursue forfeiture law suits against real estate owners whose property is used by medical marijuana dispensaries.

• Los Angeles Times:  “Feds cracking down on California medical marijuana dispensaries – Federal prosecutors in California are threatening to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, sending letters to 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 sent to prison.   The stepped-up enforcement appears to be a major escalation in the Obama administration’s bid to rein in the explosive spread of medical marijuana outlets that was accelerated by the announcement that federal prosecutors would not target people using medical marijuana in states that allow it.”

• ABC News:  “Justice Dept. Targets Marijuana Distributors in Calif. – The Justice Department announced today it is cracking down on the illegal distribution of marijuana in four federal districts in California, which has had a growing cannabis industry since legalizing medicinal marijuana in 1996.  The action places into question marijuana-related activities in 15 other states and the District of Columbia, which have legalized medicinal marijuana in some form.”

• USA Today:  “Feds to outline plans today for shutting down Calif. pot shops  – The four U.S. attorneys in California, the first state to pass a law legalizing marijuana use for patients with doctors’ recommendations, have scheduled a joint news conference today to ‘outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana.'”

• Sign On San Diego:  “Feds seek closure of medical marijuana dispensaries – “‘Apparently the federal government would rather destroy an industry that’s employing tens of thousands of people and creating hundreds of millions of dollars in legal tax revenues to save face on a bankrupt policy that the American people don’t even support — namely denying the medical value of marijuana,” Cal NORML Director Dale Gieringer said.”

• Phoenix New Times:  “Feds Target Property Owners of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in California – If there’s no push-back from the states that have legalized weed for qualified patients, including Arizona, it looks like this could be the end of the road for what has been a thriving, though not altogether legal, medical marijuana industry.  Oh, and Jan Brewer will be proved right.”

• Phoenix New Times:  “DEA: Any ‘Individual’ or Group Growing or Distributing Pot for ‘Recreational Use’ Can be Target of Investigation– The Drug Enforcement Agency wants to make it clear that it’s not just going after kingpins.  Any ‘individual’ or organization involved in growing or distributing pot for recreational use can be a target of an investigation, the DEA warns through a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman.”

Reuters:  “State-run medical marijuana dispensaries will not be coming to Rhode Island after Governor Lincoln Chafee scrapped the plan for fear it was illegal under federal law.  Chafee, who had earlier vowed support for the measure, said he decided the state’s planned dispensaries could violate superseding federal law and become a target of federal law enforcement efforts.”

This is probably the tactic Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will take to prevent medical marijuana dispensaries in Arizona after her Arizona vs. United States lawsuit gets dismissed by the federal court.

Phoenix New Times:  “The U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau, the same agency that lets drug cartel members buy guns, is warning firearms dealers not to sell to medical marijuana users.  In an open letter to the nation’s licensed firearms sellers, the ATF reminds dealers that federal law prohibits any user of a controlled substance from possessing or buying guns.  A standard form filled out by gun buyers asks if the buyer is a ‘user of’ or ‘addicted’ to any controlled substance — checking ‘yes’ effectively cancels the sale.”