Recent statements from the U.S. Attorney General have local commercial real estate brokers scrambling to respond to a surge of interest in locations for medical marijuana dispensaries.
But some say landlords should be mindful of the pitfalls of renting space to this type of tenant.
“I think it’s a bad move to lease to them,” said Richard Leyner, senior vice president at NAI Capital. “I advise my clients against it.”
He cited a variety of reasons why he gives that advice, not the least of which is the criminal element. Leyner also added that the pungent smell of the herb, even when it is not being smoked, can permeate a building and cause complaints from other lessees.
He also cautions landlords about the problems they might have with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, notwithstanding the new administration’s statements that they would make good on President Obama’s campaign promise to end punitive federal DEA raids on medical marijuana facilities in California.
“The government said they’re going to let it go at this time,” said Leyner. “They didn’t say the law (making the sale of marijuana a federal crime) was no longer on their books.”
The DEA’s raid of a San Francisco-licensed facility subsequent to Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement in February bolsters Leyner’s point.
Not only that, but the dispensaries operate now in a foggy gray area of regulatory mish-mash. Rather than trying to close clinics directly, the DEA has generally focused its efforts to quash the problem by targeting landlords.
Letters are sent to those who own buildings housing dispensaries telling them they may be subject to criminal prosecution and seizure of their property and other assets if they continue to allow the marijuana centers to stay onsite.
The state Attorney General has developed “guidelines” for how the facilities are to be sited and operated, and Los Angeles County has amended its zoning rules to allow the clinics in commercial and manufacturing zones and has guidelines for signage, security, lighting, etc.; but the City of Los Angeles has officially had a moratorium on new dispensaries since November 2007. Regulations are being worked on right now by the City Council and others that are hoped to be in effect by the time the moratorium expires in six months.
The moratorium certainly hasn’t stopped the proliferation of the facilities. There are at least 70 medical marijuana dispensaries or “cooperatives” in the San Fernando Valley, according to Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michel Moore. The California NORML (National Organization For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws) website shows Van Nuys as the capital, with more than triple the number of sites (17 total) than any other in the 818 area code.
Landlords should take the crime factor very seriously, said Moore.
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I hope the Dems lose the house in November. I don’t hate them or anything i just think that government works best when both parties have some power. In my lifetime I think the government was working best during Reagans and Clintons presidencies and were at its worst during Obamas and Bush II’s.When one party controls everything it seems like its most corrupt and usually the other party sells its soul to the Devil to get back in power.
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The trouble with owning a home is that no matter where you sit, you’re looking at something you should be doing.
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