Barack Obama's Justice Department have done what top attorneys for former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton could never do -- silenced the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana.



The modest medical cannabis dispensary -- which has operated since 1996, making the Fairfax-based pot club the state's oldest -- quietly shut down over the weekend under heavy pressure from federal prosecutors, according to the Marin Independent Journal.



Marin Alliance was sent letters by U.S. Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag instructing the club to shut down or face stiff penalties, including asset forfeiture and prison terms.



The club had operated in Marin with full knowledge of local authorities and even a resolution of support from the town council in Fairfax, according to reports. But since then, the federal government began asset forfeiture proceedings against the landlord, and the founder of the club -- Lynette Shaw -- has stopped responding to press inquiries and has severed her ties with the Marin Alliance, according to reports.



It is not yet known if the federal government will continue with the asset forfeiture proceedings filed against the Orinda-based landlord.

The club was subject of lawsuits in the 1990s as well as the early 2000s.