U.S. authorities filed suit Thursday seeking to seize the building of a Sacramento dispensary, charging the marijuana store violated federal laws against drug transactions near schools.
The forfeiture complaint filed over the Sacramento Holistic Healing Center – a Southside Park dispensary also known as "Grass on 10th" – marks the first formal federal seizure action against a medical marijuana outlet in the city.
In court papers filed in Sacramento, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner suggested the business was being targeted because it was dispensing marijuana within 1,000 feet of the MET Sacramento charter high school and William Land Elementary School.
Arguing that federal law allows for "enhanced criminal penalties" for selling or distributing marijuana near schools, authorities filed papers to seize a 1,686-square-foot retail space at 2014 10th St., near T Street.
The site, which houses the dispensary, is owned by a property firm, Legacy Ventures LLC of El Macero.
The Sacramento Holistic Healing Center was one of 38 dispensaries allowed to continue operating while applying for a city medical marijuana business permit. About two dozen of the city dispensaries remain open.
Nearly 100 dispensaries have shut down in unincorporated areas of Sacramento County in the face of threats of federal enforcement and civil actions for zoning violations by the county.
According to court documents, the Sacramento Holistic Healing Center reported 2010 gross sales of $3.5 million to the state Board of Equalization, which says medical marijuana transactions are subject to sales taxes. In July, the city of Sacramento also began charging a 4 percent local tax on medical marijuana receipts.
Last month, California's oldest dispensary, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax, closed down after U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag filed similar forfeiture actions against the dispensary's landlord. Haag asserted the dispensary was targeted because it was located within 1,000 feet of a Little League field.
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