Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 Source: North County Times (Escondido, CA) Copyright: 2007 North County Times Contact: http://www.nctimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080 Note: Gives LTE priority to North San Diego County and Southwest Riverside County residents Referenced: The Los Angeles Times article http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n858/a07.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Proposition+215 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) L.A. LANDLORDS RISK ARREST, LOSS OF PROPERTIES IF THEY CONTINUE RENTING TO MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES LOS ANGELES - Raising the stakes in their war against medical pot, federal officials have warned more than 150 L.A. landlords that they risk arrest and the loss of their properties if they continue renting to marijuana dispensaries, it was reported Tuesday. The two-page letter sent last week by Timothy J. Landrum, Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office, has whipped up worries among landlords and dispensary operators in a region where dispensaries have proliferated in the last two years, the Los Angeles Times reported. "I'm devastated," Lisa Sawoya, who left her lucrative job selling high-tech hospital equipment to open a dispensary 18 months ago in Hollywood, told The Times. "...I'll be closing my doors at the end of this month." Sarah Pullen, a DEA spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said the purpose of the letters was to "educate" property owners at risk. "By renting their property to individuals violating fed drug laws, they are in and of themselves violating federal law," Pullen told The Times. "These are definitely meant to serve as a notice." The DEA move has focused entirely on Los Angeles, The Times reported. Activists suspect that the logistics and timing -- more than a decade after state voters legalized medical marijuana with the passage of Proposition 215 -- is intended to thin the ranks of Los Angeles dispensaries on the eve of new city regulations. A proposed city ordinance would cap and regulate the number of outlets, which now number more than 400. Medical marijuana activists say most of the landlords take the threat seriously and have asked the dispensaries to move out. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake