CLOSURE ORDERS SENT TO 23 SHOPS

Federal prosecutors in Colorado made their strongest move to date
against the state's medical-marijuana industry Thursday, sending
letters to 23 dispensaries ordering them to close.

Each dispensary is located within 1,000 feet of a school, and the
letters represent a sharp tug to rein in medical-marijuana
businesses, all of which operate in violation of federal law. The
U.S. attorney's office told the dispensaries' owners in the letters
that if they do not close within 45 days, they face criminal
prosecution and asset forfeiture.

Federal authorities in Denver have never before prosecuted a medical-
marijuana dispensary owner operating in clear compliance with state law.

"Our interest is to have these stores moved away from schools,"
Colorado U.S. attorney's spokesman Jeff Dorschner said. "Our first
step is protecting children who go to school near these marijuana stores."

Letters also went out to property owners who lease space to the
dispensaries, warning the owners that their buildings could be seized.

University of Denver law professor Sam Kamin said the limited
crackdown fits in with a series of federal actions nationwide that
seek to restrict - but not immediately eliminate - medical-marijuana
businesses.

"It is a tightening of the screws," Kamin said.

Under that new pressure, medical-marijuana advocates Thursday had
mixed reactions.

Nicholas King, president of the Association of Cannabis Trades for
Colorado, said the crackdown is a violation of states' rights. King
also owns the Alpine Herbal Wellness dispensary in Cherry Creek,
which is a couple blocks from Bromwell Elementary School.

King said he expects to receive one of the letters and said he
doesn't know yet whether he will move. He said the dispensary is far
enough from the school that children do not walk by regularly, and he
said his store is professional and blends in with the neighborhood.

"We do have a highly regulated system that is being put in place,"
King said. "And to come in and use this as a justification is not
appropriate. This is really a state issue, a zoning issue. It's not
really a federal issue as far as we're concerned."

The Medical Marijuana Industry Group, perhaps the most influential
dispensary-lobbying organization in the state, didn't directly
address the letters, instead saying that it is working on an
education campaign to make sure medical marijuana isn't being given to kids.

"We fully support keeping regulated substances out of the hands of
unauthorized users and schools," the group said in a statement.

Colorado law specifies that dispensaries must be at least 1,000 feet
from schools but also allows local governments to shrink that
distance or grandfather in existing dispensaries. The 1,000-foot
buffer is also significant because it triggers enhanced penalties
under federal law.

Colorado has about 700 dispensaries, according to the most recent
count of businesses that had an active license application pending
with state regulators. An analysis by the I-News Network, an
independent investigative reporting outlet, found as many as 36
dispensaries statewide that could be considered within 1,000 feet of a school.

More than a dozen of those are in Denver, and Denver Public Schools
spokeswoman Kristy Armstrong said the district agrees with the crackdown.

"We are pleased to see the U.S. attorney's office is enforcing the
buffer zone," she said.

Congressman Jared Polis, who has defended Colorado medical-marijuana
laws in Washington, also expressed support for abiding by the
1,000-foot buffer in state law.

"The Justice Department has repeatedly made clear that dispensaries
that are in compliance with state law are not an enforcement
priority," Polis, a Democrat from Boulder, said in a statement.

The U.S. Justice Department has previously said it would not target
people operating in compliance with state medical-marijuana law. It
then clarified that policy over the summer to state the exemption
doesn't apply to dispensaries and their owners.