LA DA Plans Crackdown on Some Pot Clinics as DOJ Softens Policy

New Justice Department guidelines say federal prosecution of medical marijuana clinics or their patients will not be a priority, as long as state laws are being followed.

But one local prosecutor is planning to keep up the pressure. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced last week that he will prosecute dispensaries that sell marijuana for profit, according to the Associated Press and the Boston Globe.

Cooley claims most clinics investigated by his office aren’t following state law. He plans to target places that profit by selling pot to people who don’t qualify as medical marijuana users.

The Justice Department memo says the federal government will focus on higher-level drug traffickers and money launderers, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times. Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes, according to the government.

Dispensaries are most prevalent in California.