The Obama administration has joined the political debate in Washington state over the legalization of medical marijuana dispensaries, with federal prosecutors telling the governor a proposed new law could result in residents losing their property and state employees being prosecuted.

U.S. Attorneys Jenny Durkan and Michael Ormsby warned in a letter to Governor Christine Gregoire that landlords who rent to dispensaries could be forced to forfeit their properties, even if the state legalizes the operation of such businesses. In addition, Durkan and Ormsby wrote that “state employees who conducted activities mandated by the Washington legislative proposals would not be immune from liability under the Controlled Substances Act.”

Gregoire has indicated she will not sign the bill because of the federal warning.

The action by the U.S. Department of Justice , along with other tough stances it has taken, represent a remarkable turnabout by President Barack Obama, who promised after taking office to stop going after medical marijuana businesses, as President George W. Bush had done.

In Northern California, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana was told by the IRS that it cannot deduct any of its business expenses from its taxes—resulting in the dispensary owing millions of dollars to the federal government. Also, the city of Oakland planned to develop large, indoor medical marijuana farms until federal law enforcement officials told the city council that Washington disapproved of the idea.

-Noel Brinkerhoff