Recent DEA raids in California are once again raising questions about the Obama Administration's commitment to respecting state laws:
San Diego, CA -- Federal agents raided at least three San Diego-area medical marijuana dispensaries [Friday] in the early morning hours. Sources say that Green Kross, Unified Collective and Kush Lounge were all served federal search warrants and were subjected to aggressive SWAT-style raids which resulted in the arrest of as many as 12 people and the seizure of money, medical marijuana and patient records. These raids come as the City of San Diego is deliberating an ordinance to regulate the local distribution of medical marijuana. [Americans for Safe Access]
It's possible, of course, that there were violations of state law taking place here, in which case the DEA's involvement would be consistent with Obama's policy. But it remains unclear why California police would need federal assistance enforcing their own laws. The cynical interpretation would be that the tendency of local juries to acquit medical marijuana defendants has led San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to have the feds do her dirty work.
Meanwhile in Mendocino:
A marijuana activist group on Friday protested a federal law enforcement raid on a Mendocino County pot farm, saying it was protected by the county’s new medical marijuana cultivation ordinance.
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The Covelo farm owned by Joy Greenfield, 68, was registered with Mendocino County authorities under an ordinance that allows medical marijuana collectives to grow up to 99 plants.
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Federal agents removed 99 plants and took a computer and cash, the group said. Greenfield wasn’t there at the time.
Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman confirmed Friday that the property owner had the proper paperwork and the marijuana was legal in the eyes of the county. [Press Democrat]
Once again, there could be more to the story, but it sure sounds like classic DEA craziness. The grower's relationship with local law-enforcement casts doubt on the possibility of impropriety, so we're left wondering what the hell is going on here.
Events like these are inevitable under a vague federal policy left to the whims of the DEA's bullying cowboy mentality. Only a change in federal law will bring an end to this, but for the time being, the Obama Administration would do well to eliminate all apparent departures from the well-received hands-off approach they've promised the American people. I don't see what's so hard about that. If circumstances emerge that absolutely necessitate DEA activity involving medical marijuana, then it shouldn’t be too hard to provide an explanation for why federal resources were needed. That's the very least you can do.
Obama's pledge to respect medical marijuana laws enjoys broader public support than almost anything else he's done since taking office. Screwing that up would be stupid, cruel and pointless.
At about 11:15 Pacific time Tuesday night, the Oakland City Council passed an ordinance that would allow for four permitted industrial-scale medical marijuana cultivation facilities. In response to widespread concerns among the medical marijuana community, it also vowed to work on permitting medium-sized grows in the fall and to defer any crackdown on medium-sized grows until after the first large-scale permits are issued in January. Patients can still grow up to 32 square feet and to three-person collectives can still grow up to 96 square feet without permits. Look for a Chronicle feature story on this historic vote to be posted in the morning.
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Dear friends: The DEA has gone rogue. Despite clear guidance from the Department of Justice directing them to do otherwise, agents are conducting raids of homes and businesses where the occupants are acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. These agents are storming onto the property of law-abiding citizens with guns drawn, destroying marijuana plants being grown for patients, stealing computers and cash, and even leaving trash on the floor behind them when they are done. A recent raid in Mendocino County, California targeted a woman who had filed formal paperwork to grow medical marijuana, had paid a $1,050 application fee under the local ordinance, and whose operation had been inspected and approved by the local sheriff. When informed about this, the DEA agent in charge said, "I don't care what the sheriff says." It is only a matter of time before one of these raids ends tragically with someone seriously injured or killed. One woman is responsible for all of this. Her name is Michele Leonhart. She became the acting-administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration under George W. Bush and was shockingly nominated by President Obama to be the permanent head of the agency. She clearly has no respect for authority at the Department of Justice and is equally willing to use federal law enforcement power to trample on states' rights. Yesterday, MPP and its allies called on President Obama to withdraw this nomination. We are hoping you will join us. We have set up a page where you can send an e-mail to the White House, urging the President to withdraw the nomination. The pre-written e-mail we provide -- which you can modify -- also mentions that Leonhart has personally obstructed research into the therapeutic benefits of marijuana by denying an application from the University of Massachusetts to cultivate marijuana for this purpose. Michele Leonhart does not deserve to be DEA administrator. Please take action so that President Obama gets this message. Thank you,
Steve Fox | |
To contact MPP, please click here or reply to this e-mail. Our mailing address is Marijuana Policy Project, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20002. Any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office. | |
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PUBLIC STRATEGIES, LLC
MEDIA ADVISORY
JUNE 28, 2010
Montel Williams to NY Legislators: Pass Medical Marijuana Now
Former Talk Show Host, MS Patient Will Urge Lawmakers in Albany Tuesday to Pass Medical Marijuana Bill Without Delay
CONTACT: Vince Marrone â¦â¦â¦ 914-912-0526 or [email protected]
ALBANY, NEW YORK â At a press conference in Albany on Tuesday, former talk show host, U.S. veteran and New York resident Montel Williams will urge New York Governor David Paterson and members of the state legislature to act quickly in order to finally pass New Yorkâs medical marijuana bill, which would create one of the best regulated systems in the country for providing seriously ill patients with safe and effective access to medical marijuana, if they receive a recommendation from their doctor. Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis, and uses medical marijuana to help ease the effects of his condition.
WHAT: Press conference with Montel Williams
WHEN: Tuesday, June 29. 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Common area outside Senate Lobby, near the stairs, 3rd floor of the Capitol
        Since 1996, 14 states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws. More than a dozen state legislatures considered the issue this year, and in November, citizens of Arizona and South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana ballot initiatives. Under New Yorkâs bill, the state department of health would play an active role in regulating pharmacies and dispensaries that would be licensed to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
JUNE 7, 2010
Colorado Gives Marijuana Dispensaries Legal Status
Governor Signs Regulations for Stateâs Medical Marijuana Industry
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 202-905-2030 or [email protected]
DENVER, COLORADO âToday, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed legislation that will regulate the stateâs medical marijuana dispensaries through a system of local and state licenses, but still allow individual localities to ban dispensaries. Currently there are an estimated 1,100 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Colorado â the most in any state other than California, which does not have statewide dispensary regulations. Colorado officials estimate that about half of current dispensaries will be able to comply with new regulations.
        âBy approving a statewide system of dispensaries through which patients can safely acquire marijuana, Colorado is taking a significant amount of revenue away from the dangerous, illicit, and unsanctioned market created by prohibition,â said Karen OâKeefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. âInstead, patients will now be able to obtain marijuana from a sensible and orderly system of law-abiding and regulated providers. The scope of this newly regulated industry makes it the largest ever in the United States.â
        Under the regulations, dispensary owners will be subject to licensing fees and criminal background checks. Dispensaries will be required to grow 70 percent of the marijuana they sell and, like liquor stores, could not operate within 1,000 feet of a school.
        A state-regulated medical marijuana program is up and running in New Mexico and similar programs will soon be operational in Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. â but the number of sanctioned dispensaries to be allowed in each of those states is fewer than 10. Coloradoâs law will authorize hundreds, and potentially more if future demand increases.
        A Rasmussen telephone poll released May 15 showed that there is also plurality support among Colorado voters for further expanding the stateâs marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, with an additional 13 percent still undecided.Â
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
JUNE 7, 2010
New Marijuana Ordinance Could Have Disastrous Impact on Los Angeles
By Closing More Than 400 Medical Marijuana Dispensing Collectives, City Will Lose Countless Jobs and Tax Dollars, Force Some Patients Into Black Market
CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 707-575-9870 or 707-291-0076
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA â Today, the City of Los Angeles is expected to begin enforcing an ordinance that could shut down more than 400 medical marijuana dispensing collectives within the city. Approved by the L.A. City Council, the ordinance will give collectives that opened prior to 2007 (about 130 of which remain) six months to comply with new regulations that will force many into new locations.
        âThis new ordinance is all but guaranteed to have a disastrous impact on Los Angeles,â said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project. âBy imposing zoning laws on medical marijuana collectives that are stricter than those for gun dealers, adult entertainment businesses, alcohol vendors, or pharmacies, the city is placing an undue burden on thousands of medical marijuana patients whose quality of life may depend on safe and reliable access to their medicine. There is no rational reason to impose stricter regulations on medical marijuana collectives than on liquor stores, which sell a substance that everyone knows is more harmful than marijuana and doesnât require a doctorâs recommendation to purchase. With so many collectives being forced to close shop, many patients whose neighborhood dispensaries close will no doubt turn to the criminal market to obtain their medicine. That means sales taxes wonât be paid on those transactions, it will be impossible to monitor the quality or origin of that marijuana, and the typical turf wars and crime associated with black markets will become more prevalent in surrounding communities.
        âEven in terms of simple economics, closing these businesses makes entirely no sense,â Smith continued. âWhy, in the midst of a recession, in a city already plagued by economic stagnation, would anyone think itâs a good idea to shutter more than 400 legitimate businesses that employ hundreds of residents and contribute millions in tax revenue? More empty storefronts are not the solution to L.A.âs financial woes.âÂ
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.
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