Colorado Medical Marijuana Dispensary Crackdown, Round 2: Shops Near CU Receive Shutdown Notices

After two rounds of orders shut down marijuana dispensaries near k-12 schools in Colorado, U.S. Attorney John Walsh seems to have broadened the interpretation of his self-imposed mandate to ensure "the protection of children and young people from drugs and drug abuse."

Westword reports several of the dispensaries included in the second round of closures are nowhere near k-12 schools, but are in close proximity to the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Kush Magazine, meanwhile, speculates officials at CU, not John Walsh, may have requested the crackdown . The theory isn't impossible given the University's recently-announced push to clamp down on the annual 4/20 smokeout there.

Last year's 4/20 event at CU was estimated to have drawn as many as 10,000 people. Cleanup and security costs from the smoke-out exceeded $50,000.

We're guessing the crackdown will have little impact on the availability of marijuana at CU, a school infamous for the drug long before dispensaries popped up on The Hill. From a 1,000-foot perspective, however, dispensary owners may want to re-evaluate their proximity not just to k-12 schools, but universities--and any other institution that caters to America's youth--as well.