In our Oct. 7 blog post, we discussed an aggressive campaign by the U.S. Justice Department to shut down medical marijuana businesses in states such as Colorado that have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. At the time, federal agents had sent letters to 16 marijuana dispensaries in California threatening criminal charges against the proprietors and landlords if they did not shut down within 45 days.

That phase of the operation did not target dispensaries or grow operations in Colorado, but now four Denver men have been arrested after agents recently raided two medical marijuana businesses. The agents were searching for two more men who were involved with the businesses, according to KUSA-TV. The arrested men could serve life in prison if convicted under federal drug laws. They ranged in age from 21 to 48, and submitted to arrest without incident.

This was the second federal raid for one of the facilities this year after a prior incident this summer. One of the men agents are searching for is the general manager of one of the companies, and the other is the landlord of the building and part-owner of the business.

Though 16 states, including Colorado, have legalized medical marijuana, federal law still forbids its use for any purpose. In June, the Justice Department issued a memo that signaled it would be taking a more aggressive approach toward medicinal marijuana businesses. Medical marijuana advocates have cast the issue as a federal power versus states' rights question.

Source: KUSA-TV, "Feds bust medical marijuana growers," Jace Larson, Oct. 14, 2011