Responding to comments made by medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry, U. S Attorney John Walsh wants to make it clear that the federal government is not bluffing when it comes to recent threats to Colorado’s medical marijuana industry.

“It’s not a bluff,” Walsh said. “We certainly have the resources to take action.”

For now the feds say they are going after medical cannabis dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools, which are allowed under laws in Colorado. But as we found out in California, the 1,000 feet story only leads to widespread decimation of vast swaths of the dispensary industry.

The organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition recently sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Walsh, voicing their opposition to this intrusion by the federal government, which read in part:

Dear U.S. Attorney John Walsh:

As fellow law-enforcement colleagues vitally interested in the health and well-being of children, we must respectfully register our fundamental objection to your recent issuance of 23 letters threatening state-legal Colorado Medical Marijuana Centers and their landlords with civil, criminal and forfeiture sanctions. That you would justify this action on the basis of the locations in question being too close to schools for your liking (compliance with state and local law notwithstanding) is ironic and highlights the failure of the very federal marijuana prohibition policy that underlies the threats in your letter, as we’ll explain.

Certainly, you must be aware that the voters of Colorado and the Colorado legislature – like the voters and lawmakers of 16 other states – have made it abundantly clear that marijuana is medicine for many people and for many ailments, and that its use and provision to patients should be allowed under the law.

Almost two years ago, in a bipartisan fashion, the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives enacted a strict dual licensing system for Medical Marijuana Centers that requires a license by the local and state government. All the businesses you have targeted are operating with approval from their local governments and the state of Colorado.

For you to join maverick prosecutors in California, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington and other states in going out of your way to short-circuit the will of the people and their elected representatives and to place obstacles between patients and their medicine is short-sighted and inimical to the public health, safety and welfare.  Your actions bring law-enforcement into disrepute with the spoken will of the voters and their state representatives.

No law prohibits the location of a physician’s office, hospital or pharmacy within 1,000 feet of a school.  So, why would you exercise your prosecutorial discretion in such a way so as to make life more difficult for certain patients and their caregivers in Colorado? It’s not as if these actions will do anything to reduce the illegal trade in marijuana – near schools or otherwise. Expect quite the opposite.

The bottom line is that the federal government has no interest in the well-being of kids; they know having dispensaries near schools doesn’t harm children. But dispensaries do harm the bottom line of the pharmaceutical companies who pay a lot of money to certain politicians in the hopes that the competition will be removed.

If the competition is not removed, the money flow can easily be cut off. So you have the feds threatening, then destroying state medical marijuana industries as they are currently doing in CA.

I believe U.S. Attorney Walsh when he says the feds are not bluffing. They can’t afford to bluff. John Walsh’s job and many others depend on the feds sweeping in with agents if need be.

Because if John Walsh doesn’t get the job done, he will be replaced by someone who will.

- Joe Klare

And be sure to check out our Open Letter on Behalf of 30 Million Cannabis Users and join us in our fight!