CALIFORNIA: Feds Order Closure Of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

The federal government is sending letters to California's legal pot dispensaries ordering them to close within 45 days.

The state's four U.S. attorneys sent letters Wednesday and Thursday notifying at least 16 pot shops or their landlords that they are violating federal drug laws, even though medical marijuana is legal in California. The attorneys are to announce their coordinated crackdown at a Friday news conference. The move marks an escalation of the conflict between the government and the medical marijuana industry.

While medical marijuana has been a literal lifesaver for many cancer and AIDS patients, brazen flouting of wrongfully obtained licenses has long provided ample fodder to the movement's enemies.

UPDATE: It's not yet clear if the "crackdown" is limited only to those pot shops with the worst histories of abuses. Tomorrow's press conference will tell the full story.