Could Colorado State employees who work in the regulatory end of the medical marijuana business be prosecuted for their role in what the federal government increasingly seems to view as an illegal enterprise? Could Colorado State employees who work in the regulatory end of the medical marijuana business be prosecuted for their role in what the federal government increasingly seems to view as an illegal enterprise?

According to Department of Justice attorneys in Washington State, it is not outside the realm of possibility.

As the Washington Legislature debated legislation to broaden that state’s medical marijuana operations, Governor Christine Gregoire wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking for guidance.

Holder, of course, did not write back. Instead Gregoire got a letter from U.S. Attorneys Jenny A. Durkan and Michael C. Ormsby of the U.S. Department of Justice Eastern District of Washington.

In this letter, dated April 14, the attorneys write that after consultation with Holder, the feds are prepared to enforce the Controlled Substances Act “vigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law. The Department’s investigative and prosecutorial resources will continue to be directed toward these objectives.”

The letter makes it clear it is not just people involved directly in the medical marijuana trade who might be prosecuted. The letter specifically states that landlords and financiers could be prosecuted.