Businesses crave certainty.
And there are few businesses that have less of it than medical marijuana dispensaries.
The recent move by Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh to crack down on dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, while an understandable maneuver when considered in isolation, serves to inject more confusion into an already bewildering situation.
We think the federal government should be more clear about what parameters it expects medical marijuana businesses to follow in order to escape federal law enforcement scrutiny.
In many ways, it’s frustrating to be in this position. The medical marijuana industry that has come into being in recent years is like a garden gone wild.
When voters in 2000 approved a state constitutional amendment allowing for the use of medical marijuana, this “industry” certainly wasn’t what was envisioned.
No, what was pitched to voters was a question designed to appeal to their humanity: Won’t you allow the very sick or dying to smoke a little dope to ease their pain? The wording talked about a half-dozen plants and a caregiver.
It was all designed to evoke an image of small-time use for individuals. What we ended up with in Colorado, thanks to a combination of factors including the actions of the legislature, is an industry.
The feds are among those deserving of blame in this matter. The so-called Ogden memo from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2009 opened the door to “Big Pot.” In many ways, its conflicting language is a Rorschach test — people see in it what they want to see.
On the one hand, the memo says that going after marijuana users who have “cancer or other serious illnesses” and are in compliance with state law isn’t a judicious use of limited federal resources. Criminal enterprises would be the real targets.
On the other, it says the absence of criminal activity and “clear and unambiguous compliance” with state law aren’t a guarantee that someone won’t be prosecuted if the action serves “federal interests.”
It was convoluted then, and it remains so today. Subsequent guidance has not sufficiently clarified the circumstances in which authorities will use their power to enforce federal laws making marijuana illegal.
As for Walsh’s move demanding the closure of dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, we do not take issue with the substance. Dispensaries should not be near schools.
However, the changing enforcement landscape where medical marijuana is concerned has created an uneasy tension between the federal government and those in the medical marijuana business.
If the Justice Department had remained silent on the matter, that would be one thing. But insofar as Attorney General Eric Holder’s proclamations on medical marijuana have caused confusion, he owes it to Colorado and other medical marijuana states to clear the air.
