The federal government pursues marijuana traffickers in Oregon, not patients in the state's medical marijuana program, U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall told medical marijuana advocates Wednesday.



It was the first time an Oregon U.S. attorney has met with the Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana, a panel that offers input to the state's marijuana program.



Marshall's appearance drew many of Oregon's most outspoken and active advocates: lawyers, clinic owners, growers and dispensary operators.



Leland Berger, a Portland attorney and medical marijuana advocate, said the meeting was remarkable.



"The U.S. attorney is under no obligation to meet with an advisory committee to a state agency or submit herself to questions from the committee," Berger said.



But he was blunt in his take on the federal government's recent raids of medical marijuana grow sites in southern Oregon: "After the federal government steals the patients' medicine, how is the patient supposed to get their medicine?"



Marshall, for her part, couldn't say how her boss -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder -- would respond to the recent votes in Colorado and Washington to legalize marijuana. And she declined to offer an opinion on how to legally dispense medical marijuana in Oregon, reminding the group that the drug remains illegal under federal law.



She did, however, offer her view of outlaw marijuana growers.



Federal agents have raided 15 large-scale medical marijuana grow sites in the region since 2010, cracking down on producers they see as operating outside the state's medical marijuana program.



Marshall talked about the recent prosecution of a Grants Pass medical marijuana grower who said he was following the Oregon medical marijuana law. Evidence at trial indicated the grower was selling pot for up to $2,700 a pound. He was sentenced to a decade in federal prison.





Medical Marijuana

"I don't like calling them medical marijuana cases," she said. "I believe they are criminals."

Southern Oregon is home to the highest concentrations of patients in the state and offers prime marijuana growing conditions for cultivating large plants. Marshall called southern Oregon pot growers "brilliant gardeners."

But Marshall also said the region is "a magnet" for people who want to exploit the state's medical marijuana program.

She said she talks regularly with U.S. attorneys in medical marijuana states to discuss trends and legal strategies. She said federal officials see the same hallmarks in medical marijuana trafficking operations that they see in other trafficking cases, including illegal weapons and tax evasion.

"The concern isn't that people are smoking marijuana," she said. "Not to say there aren't concerns associated with that, but that is not what is driving it. The concern is, we see some patterns that develop as part of drug trafficking."

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