MediBloom: Fed Crackdown Won’t Shut Us Down

A Rancho Bernardo medical marijuana dispensary is blowing off a new directive from the federal government for California dispensaries and collectives to shut down in 45 days, with its attorney calling the federal override of state law “troubling.”

“Real people, seriously ill people with medical problems are caught in the middle of this political war and it’s not really fair to the people who get stuck in the middle,” said Lance Rogers, an attorney representing MediBloom in Rancho Bernardo and three other collectives in San Diego.

Medical marijuana is legal in California, through the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, or Proposition 215. However, marijuana—medical or not—remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

MediBloom, on Avena Place off of Bernardo Center Drive in downtown RB, opened in April and has since drawn customers from around the county. The Poway City Council, in a recent meeting about its city’s own medical marijuana policies, even cited the presence of a dispensary in Rancho Bernardo as a reason that it may not even need to open its doors to having one.

But many in RB aren’t happy about MediBloom being here, and have echoed concerns similar to those expressed by U.S. Department of Justice officials who announced the coming crackdown during a press conference in Sacramento on Friday.

Laura Duffy, the U.S. attorney in San Diego, joined U.S. attorneys from Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco for the announcement and said illegal marijuana grow operations create “significant negative consequences” and result in “a very serious public safety issue.” ()

Officials said hundreds of warning letters had been sent to dispensary landlords and operators around the state, telling them they had 45 days to shut down or else they could face civil and criminal prosecution. Authorities said they were focusing on “significant” collectives and dispensaries, though they declined to say what constitutes significant, and said all operations should abide by the directive.

Rogers said MediBloom did not receive the warning letter, but it won’t be shutting down regardless. The intrusion of the federal government into a state matter could set the stage for a showdown over states’ rights, Rogers said, and leave medical marijuana patients who don’t want to break the law in a difficult position.

“I do think it’s unfair and I think it’s really sad,” Rogers said.

Rogers said he is going to take his fight against the crackdown “one day at a time.” He also disputed a common perception about dispensaries: that they are cover operations to distribute marijuana to teens and others who simply want it for recreational use.

“I think that perception is overblown and a lot of times it is misrepresented by individuals who want marijuana to be prohibited, who want to go back to it being illegal any time,” Rogers said.

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