Federal prosecutors have filed civil forfeiture actions against an Oakland medical marijuana dispensary that bills itself as the world’s largest, as part of a crackdown by U.S. authorities on California’s massive cannabis trade.
The lawsuits, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seek forfeiture of two properties where Harborside Health Center operates, said Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California.
Harborside says it is the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the world, serving more than 100,000 patients in a “beautiful waterfront location,” and is subject of the Discovery Channel reality TV show “Weed Wars.”
“The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana laws and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need,” Haag said in a statement on Wednesday announcing the actions.
“The filing of the civil forfeiture complaints against the two Harborside properties is part of our measured effort to address the proliferation of illegal marijuana businesses in the Northern District of California,” she said.
In a statement on its website, the clinic said, “Harborside has nothing to be ashamed of, and will contest the Federal actions openly and publicly, with every legal means at our disposal.”
Leave a Reply