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Let's not kid ourselves. Selling marijuana on any basis is
completely illegal under Federal law and it is still very questionable under
state law. There are substantial risks to opening a Marijuana Club or delivery
service. You could lose everything you own to Federal asset forfeiture, and
spend a long time in jail, if you are prosecuted.
Whether that happens to you depends on a lot of factors. Many
people have been in the business of selling marijuana literally for decades and
never been arrested. Others get arrested the first time they try it. Your
chances of getting arrested and prosecuted depend on a number of things:
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How careful are you in your behavior? Do you tell all your
friends about your wonderful new crop? Do you sell to anyone who comes along?
Do you leave incriminating evidence laying around where it can be freely
observed by others?
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What is the attitude of your local police toward clubs? If they
don't like clubs, they often don't have any problem calling the DEA to bust
people they don't like.
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How big is your operation? The DEA and the local police have
limited resources. You can expect the biggest fish in the pond to be the most
current target.
Chance and dumb luck. People have gotten busted because a simple,
ordinary electrical appliance shorted out and started a fire -- which brought
the fire department -- who called the police. Even if you do everything right
(or as right as you can), there is always a chance that some odd event will
happen and the police will show up at your door.
Your security lies in two things. One is the uncertainty of state
law and the general unwillingness of local police (in some areas) to get
involved in medical marijuana. The other is that the DEA simply doesn't have
the resources to deal with all the medical marijuana sellers -- and it never
will. In order to try to correct the situation now, the Federal Government
would have to pull of an American version of Tianamen Square.
But make no mistake about it -- the DEA will continue to hurt
people until this situation is resolved. If you open a Marijuana Club, you will
have safety in the sheer numbers of other people who are opening clubs, but you
won't be immune from harm.
The risks in opening a Marijuana Club will never be zero. It is
safer now than it has ever been before, but you still need a good set of
cojones, and some careful thinking before you try it.
Need it be said? Talk to a good lawyer before you begin.
Make sure you know what you are doing, and that you have a carefully thought
plan for dealing with the risks.
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