A federal judge in Sacramento has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a marijuana dispensary up there that argued that the federal government broke its promise in launching its recent crackdown on the medical marijuana industry across the state. Citing the 2009 Ogden memo, in which the Obama administration instructed federal prosecutors not to focus energy on marijuana enforcement, the lawsuit was one of four filed in each of CA's federal districts trying to state the same case about feds being overly mean to the pot trade. In this case, as in two others already decided in Oakland and San Diego courts, the judge was basically like, "Guys, that was just a memo."

Judge Garland Burrell said that the memo "does not contain a promise not to enforce" federal law, and the Justice Department is free to do what they want to enforce the law.

Pot advocates, for their part, seem to just want to make a stink for the sake of it in the hope that Obama or someone will listen. But the crackdown has already shuttered a number of dispensaries in Northern California, including the famed Marin Medical Alliance, citing too little distance between the operations and parks or schools. (In Southern California, the reasoning and tactics for shutdowns have been a little different.)

Also, an appeal to the CA Supreme Court regarding the ongoing conflict between state and federal laws around pot is still pending.

In any event, the worst may be over as far as this crackdown is concerned, and we can't see Obama really making this a second-term priority when he wins his second term — ahem — but look for more headlines as pot advocates continue to rage against the machine, and bring more lawsuits.

[Chron]
[HuffPo]

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