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| San Jose Cops Off DEA Squad |
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Posted by CN Staff on October 10, 2002 at 06:54:39 PT By Mark Simon Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
San Jose Police Chief William Lansdowne has yanked his officers off the Drug Enforcement Administration task force that raided a Santa Cruz medicinal marijuana club a month ago. Lansdowne said his four officers and one sergeant have better things to do - - such as tackle the methamphetamine epidemic -- than harass local pot clubs, which are operating within state law. "I think the priorities are out of sync at the federal level," said Lansdowne, who said he agrees the state's voters made the right decision in legalizing marijuana for medical use under regulated circumstances. "The problem in California right now is methamphetamines, not medical marijuana." Lansdowne said the DEA-led raid put his officers in the middle of a "clear conflict" between state and federal law. In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which permits local governments to regulate distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Federal law outlaws marijuana use in any manner. The federal government has argued -- and the argument has been upheld in federal court -- that U.S. marijuana laws override state or local ordinances. A little more than a month ago, an armed and DEA-led task force raided the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz, seizing 167 plants and arresting founders Mike and Valerie Corral. WAMM has been operating since 1996 under the supervision and approval of city, county and local law enforcement officials. WAMM grows its own marijuana organically on its own farm. "It's unfair to put our officers in a position of deciding how they're going to enforce a law that's in conflict with local law," Lansdowne said. The San Jose officers had been assigned to the DEA's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, a unit that also included personnel from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the FBI and the Santa Clara County sheriff's office. DEA spokesman Rich Meyer would not disclose the size of the task force. A sheriff's spokesman said Santa Clara County deputies remain on the unit. The San Jose officers have been reassigned to the department's own narcotics unit and the state Bureau of Narcotics task force. The DEA's Meyer reacted diplomatically to Lansdowne's decision to withdraw his officers from the task force. "He's certainly entitled to his opinions, and we have great respect for him, " Meyer said. "However, the federal law is very clear when it comes to marijuana, and our mandate is to enforce the laws." Lansdowne, a 32-year veteran of the San Jose Police Department, the last four as chief, said his responsibilities are clear -- he must follow the state law. "I think the public made the decision for us that if it's well-managed, it's legal," he said. "Our district attorney believes that, the state believes that, and I believe they're correct, so long as there are controls in place." Incidentally, Proposition 215 passed with 81 percent of the vote in Santa Cruz and with nearly 63 percent of the vote in San Jose. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/10/10/BA128957.DTL Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Related Articles & Web Sites: Pictures From WAMM Protest The Thrashing of a Dying Dinosaur's Tail Why I'm Fighting Federal Drug Laws From City Hall Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on October 10, 2002 at 11:01:22 PT:
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| San Jose Police Chief William Lansdowne has yanked his officers off the Drug Enforcement Administration task force that raided a Santa Cruz medicinal marijuana club a month ago. Lansdowne said his four officers and one sergeant have better things to do - - such as tackle the methamphetamine epidemic -- than harass local pot clubs, which are operating within state law. "I think the priorities are out of sync at the federal level," said Lansdowne, who said he agrees the state's voters made the right decision in legalizing marijuana for medical use under regulated circumstances. "The problem in California right now is methamphetamines, not medical marijuana." I also applaud Chief Lansdowne for his wisdom and justice. California must fully support the implementation of California state law for compassionate use of medical marijuana. The stakes are high. California has been made a federal example with the WAMM raids. Due to the increased world fear, caused by terrorism and the War on Terrorism, the ripples of this heavy-handed raid have spread across California and around the world. On one hand, there is an unprecedented outpouring of compassion. On the other hand, there is a call for more security, including tougher laws and enforcement even on the mild psychedelic medical plant, called cannabis. Do not believe the faulty premise that all drugs, including home-grown cannabis, medical marijuana, support terrorism. This propaganda is apparently at the root of the federal raids on California medical marijuana providers. First California, then Ohio and other states, and now even Holland is being threatened. Granted their liberalization model is not ideal, but a return to prohibition would put more kids at risk as they increasingly interacted with street dealers and their dangerous addictive hard drugs. Dutch coffee shop guru Nol Van Schaik, who owns three potshops in Haarlem near Amsterdam, says the CDA does not have a popular mandate for its anti-pot stance."The Dutch people are happy with the coffee shop system, and it is being copied by other countries in Europe," Van Schaik said. "The system has resulted in less mixing of hard drugs and soft drugs, and has decreased the influence of organized crime while generating billions of dollars every year for the agriculture, hospitality and tourism industries. Marijuana is in big demand; no matter what the CDA does, people will find a way to get it." [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by VitaminT on October 10, 2002 at 09:38:43 PT |
| Chief Landsdowne,
I want to take a brief moment to say thanks for acting to remove San Jose police personnel from the DEA task force. I agree with you that there are far better ways for law enforcement to allocate resources - ways that don't involve pre-dawn raids on peaceful law-abiding citizens. RE: "San Jose Cops Off DEA Squad" (San Francisco Chronicle 10/10/2002) Whatever position one may take on the medical efficacy of Cannabis - in California it is legal. People involved in the production of Cannabis for use by seriously ill and/or terminal patients should be anything but priority one for the DEA - particularly since prohibition continues to stoke a thriving black-market for substances far more dangerous, like Methamphetamine as you have pointed out. I'm old enough to remember the days of the friendly-man-in-blue and it's with great sadness that I say - I think those days have gone the way of the cynical War on Drugs. Our kids are growing up with the image of the police as masked marauders with automatic weapons and stun grenades - sensational images like those from ubiquitous violent TV shows like "COPS." A week or so ago in Ohio, a similar local task force conducted another such raid. In that action a young man, 23 years old took a shotgun blast from an officer - one of 12 officers involved in a show of overwhelming force! That young man's father arrived at the scene as the S.W.A.T. officers stood in the driveway celebrating with high-fives all around - these "big men" recovered a misdemeanor quantity cannabis, a pipe and box of sandwich bags! They left behind them the bloody remains of this boy and a shattered family. Stories like this make me want to ask those officers: Are we safer because of what's been done here? Can I encourage my daughter - now 21 - to have faith in the police? Chief Landsdowne, I don't see how I can. It's too easy for me to put myself in the shoes of that father. I shudder to imagine arriving at my daughters house to find our Law Enforcement "professionals" making sport of having just killed her over some minor offense that never caused harm to anyone! Again, thank you for doing the right thing - I hope your actions will encourage other local forces to do the same. For my part, I pray it sends a strong message to politicians in Washington - that the War on Drugs cannot go on forever - there is a better way! VitaminT [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by malleus on October 10, 2002 at 08:29:43 PT |
| Namely, that local LEO's are NOT federal officers and thus are NOT required to enforce federal laws. And that doing so makes them in violation of their oath of office, as there's nothing in the constitution that says anything about drugs. But there's another aspect of this, too. Such as if local California LEO's are operating under local jurisdiction but are following *federal* orders to raid local care centers, then they must be sworn in as *fed* agents and give up their local LEO jobs. And any seniorirty that they have in them. To my knowledge, none of them have done that. Something a savvy lawyer might want to look into. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 10, 2002 at 08:29:40 PT:
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| Print it up as an LTE! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by John Markes on October 10, 2002 at 08:00:26 PT |
| ""He's certainly entitled to his opinions, and we have great respect for him, " Meyer said. "However, the federal law is very clear when it comes to marijuana, and our mandate is to enforce the laws." " Not quite. The DEA is in the unique position of both setting and enforcing the law. The DEA has the responsibility to first ensure each drug and substance is in the correct Schedule and then enforce it. They have negated all attempts at rescheduling marijuana, even after their own administrative law judge said it should be otherwise. The conflict of interest in both setting and enforcing thes laws has allowed them to flaunt the intentions of the laws. They set their own over-large existance over the needs of patients nationwide, and indeed, worldwide. Such callous disregard for the people of this country needs to be addressed and the powers seperated. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by knox42897 on October 10, 2002 at 07:55:17 PT:
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| Who: NRLE, the campaign to pass Question 9 What: A rally to support Question 9. Assemblywoman Chris Giunchiliangi will be tapping a segment opposite the Federal Drug Czar on John Ralston's show, "day one" on channel 8. When: THURSDAY, October 10, 2002. 11:00 a.m. PRESS EVENT. Supporters please arrive by 10:15 a.m. Where: Near the Channel 8 Studios. 3228 Channel 8 Drive, the cross streets are paradise and convention center drive. We will meet outside the parking garage and assemble on the sidewalk near the studios. We will validate your parking ticket. Why: To show our support for Question 9 and courageous spokespeople like Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani. Nevadans DON'T appreciate the Federal Government coming into our state and telling us how to vote on Question 9. This is YOUR chance to be part of this historic effort. Look professional-- the dress is business casual. We will have signs on hand for supports to wave. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 10, 2002 at 07:42:40 PT:
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| The federal monopoly on truth and solidarity is crumbling. !Viva la revolucion! [ Post Comment ] |
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