cannabisnews.com: Federal Magistrate Sets Oct. 22 Hearing in Case










  Federal Magistrate Sets Oct. 22 Hearing in Case

Posted by FoM on October 04, 2001 at 20:38:45 PT
By Jim Wassernan, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press 

A federal magistrate will hear arguments Oct. 22 to decide if records for more than 5,000 northern California medical marijuana users can be viewed by federal authorities. Chief Magistrate Gregory Hollows set the hearing Thursday in a courtroom packed with medical marijuana users, several in wheelchairs. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency seized thousands of records Sept. 28 from the California Medical Research Center in El Dorado County in what was portrayed as an investigation into alleged marijuana distribution.
Clinic owners Dr. Mollie Fry and her attorney husband, Dale Schafer, deny selling marijuana or certificates to buy it. Neither was arrested and the seized records of their clients remain sealed. The two-year-old clinic in the town of Cool charges $200 to determine if people can use marijuana for medical conditions from cancer to chronic pain. If they qualify under 1996's Proposition 215, which bars criminal prosecution for using marijuana for medical conditions, they are referred to cannabis "clubs" elsewhere for marijuana. Agents seized 32 marijuana plants that Fry keeps for personal use. She is a breast cancer survivor and medical marijuana patient. U.S. Attorney Anne Pings argued Thursday that the records are relevant to her department's investigation and a possible case that clinic recommendations of eligibility represent "aiding and abetting" marijuana sales. Clinic attorney J. David Dick, who specializes in marijuana cases, said he will ask that the records be returned. "This, in essence, is the seizure of every single case file in an attorney's office," he said. "This is why there are so many people here. They're concerned with their privacy rights." Pings, citing a "crime-fraud exception," told the chief magistrate that traditional attorney-client privilege does not apply to the records. "Theoretically, the government is entitled to know what individuals purchased marijuana or were informed about the opportunity to purchase marijuana," she said. After the hearing, Schafer told more than 60 people who attended, "Nobody has a right to look at your records." He said, "It's going to be over my dead body." Heather Schafer, a clinic worker and daughter of Schafer and Fry, said "We anticipated that our lines were tapped, that the government didn't like what we were doing." Wheelchair-bound Dee Blanc of Placerville said she dropped to 81 lbs. before she began using marijuana to gain weight. "I'm a chronic pain patient," she said. Kimberly Craft of Placerville said,"We have a state law that protects us. I'm afraid they're going to put us on a list and decide who's next." Complete Title: Federal Magistrate Sets Oct. 22 Hearing in Medical Marijuana Case Source: Associated PressAuthor: Jim Wassernan, Associated Press WriterPublished: Thursday, October 4, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Associated PressRelated Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htm DEA Raids Clinic http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11030.shtmlDEA Seize Files on Medical Marijuana Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11023.shtml

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Comment #19 posted by mayan on October 06, 2001 at 13:15:20 PT

Where's The Coverage?
The assault on State's rights has begun. This story should be front page in every newspaper in the land! This "media blackout" could last a while. The Feds waited until we were distracted by the war on terror. The Government will try to make this seem insignifigant in light of last month's attacks, but the future of State's rights are at stake. 
 

The 10th amendment to our Constitution states - "The powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."Time will tell who the true patriots are.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on October 05, 2001 at 15:44:52 PT

lookinside and everyone
I just want to let you know that everything will work out. We can't use some newspapers at least for the time being. I think the world of the people at Mapinc. I own C News and yet they are willing to allow this site to operate free of charge. If I have problems with papers they are taking care of them for me. If only we all realized how many people work all the time and have many sleepless nights over different issues we'd know that we will arrived at our destination even if we get sidetracked along the way. Also now that war is here or coming and we aren't sure who the enemy is life in general is going to get more complicated and we will become more fearful but if we stick together, trust one another and help when we can we win no matter what the results would be. That's my life's philosophy and my 2 cents. Hang in there everyone!
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Comment #17 posted by i420 on October 05, 2001 at 14:54:14 PT

Awsome...
right on kaptinemo that was really cool you posting that about the 2%. 
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Comment #16 posted by lookinside on October 05, 2001 at 14:16:53 PT:

as someone said before...
let's focus on the coming election...in the meantime, talk, write, and dig in your heels every time the thieves in WARshington try to steal our freedoms from us...long live our constitution...and death to the cabal in the capitol...
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Comment #15 posted by Cannabis Dave on October 05, 2001 at 14:02:56 PT

Say goodbye to your civil rights.
Until the revolution is over and we've thrown the criminals who stole power into prison, we can all say goodbye to our civil rights. "They" will simply say we are a "possible" terrorist in order to spy on us. Computers make that spying even easier for them - it really is scary. In the future they will be implating chips in us which will allow them to know where we're at constantly. The CIA already experimented with doing that on unknowing citizens in the past, as has been exposed. Do a search on "mind control CIA" for some very scary reading. The future is NOW unless we take our government back from the criminals in power. A revolution is our planets only hope, otherwise the greedy people in power will continue destroying our planet to satisfy their evil lust.
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Comment #14 posted by lookinside on October 05, 2001 at 13:41:50 PT:

i was a "bee boy"...
back when it was an afternoon paper...i subscribed most of the time...i felt a loyalty because they were considered liberal and carried the democratic party line...then i discovered that what the bee prints is filtered through the government agenda...our governor could rape and kill 20 6 year old boys and it would be on the reverse page from the obituaries...they back a repressive district attorney's office...the bee has become a tool of the government, state and federal, and cannot be relied on to print the truth...just my opinion, but i backed it up with a cancellation a couple months ago...
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 05, 2001 at 09:36:09 PT

greenfox and Mari and everyone
Unfortunately we are being hassled by a few papers and there are people working on this problem to see if it can be resolved. You will notice that Mapinc. has Excerpts on some articles. I don't know what I'm allowed to discuss so please trust me that we are working on it! We'll get through this I have Faith. Isn't life grand sometimes? Not!gf: I agree with you and that is the one thing we have going for C News. We are 100 percent NON Profit! and have a discussion forum.
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Comment #12 posted by schmeff on October 05, 2001 at 09:34:09 PT

News Censorship?
Hey, FoM, what's up with the Sacramento Bee? I also read a couple days ago that the Anchorage paper didn't want MAP to archive their articles.This must be how they respond when well-informed readers start taking issue with their cheap government propaganda...try to take steps to ensure that their rags are only read by the local village idiots!Ha Ha Ha
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Comment #11 posted by greenfox on October 05, 2001 at 09:27:32 PT

FoM I think..
That you may be protected in terms of reposting articles. This isn't a pay site and it IS for information only.
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Comment #10 posted by Mari on October 05, 2001 at 09:19:18 PT

The Bee
What's up with not being able to post articles from the Bee??
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 05, 2001 at 08:34:33 PT

Here's a Related Article
Because we have been told we aren't allowed to post Sacramento Bee articles for the time being here is a direct link to a related article.

Seized Files Spur Legal Fight
http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local03_20011005.html
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on October 05, 2001 at 08:28:34 PT

Just a Note
Hi Everyone, 
I just wanted to say I haven't found any news yet but I'll keep looking. 
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Comment #7 posted by greenfox on October 05, 2001 at 08:28:17 PT

spewspewspewspewspew...and, of course..SPEW!
This makes me ill. Sick. Disturbed. Upset. Hurt. ANGRY.Oh well. What can I do? Other than.. laugh, and say...OH, CANADA!sig,fik,
-gf
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on October 05, 2001 at 06:55:18 PT:

Yes, i420, I have seen the patch
I don't know if this is really related, but reminds me of something that Albert Einstein was reputed to have said:(from Genius Of Science, Genius Of Peace: By Giving Short Shrift To Einstein's Pacifist Beliefs, Time Ill-Served Their Person Of The Century)
http://www.commondreams.org/views/022100-101.htm"The aim of all pacifists must be to convince others of the immorality of war and rid the world of the shameful slavery of military service." Einstein elaborated on the specifics: "The timid may say, 'What is the use? We shall be sent to prison.' To them I would reply: Even if only 2 percent of those assigned to perform military service would announce their refusal to fight, as well as urge means other than war of settling international disputes, governments would be powerless, they would not dare send such a large number of people to jail."Well, the problem has been, as always, that the opposition has never seen a moral argument as anything but the mewlings of the weak. Force is all they've ever respected. Force of arms first, then force of law. That's why they feel safe in attacking the sick this way; the sick can't fight back with force of arms. So they are left with the force of law. Even then, as they have demonstrated with California State law, the antis will ignore laws they don't like in favor of those they do. Unless a big enough cudgel is applied to their porcine snouts that they realize that some real damage could ensue if they persist. At the risk of sounding a bore, unless the Feds suffer a major a**-whupping courtesy of the courts (as they did with the doctors injunction against First Amendment infringement in advising patients about cannabis) this will only get worse. Despite what Shrubya said (and did any of you actually believe him?) about State's Rights, Ashcroft has his marching orders: Federallismus Uber Alles! Federal law - no matter how stupid and wrongheaded - shall triumph over State's law, and the State legislatures relegated to debating societies passionately arguing over which brand of paper clips, fly swatters and a**wipe to purchase next fiscal year.Klinton tried to destroy State government with his Executive Order 13083:Clinton's Federalism Executive Order
http://www.thecommonman.com/exec-orders02.htmbut got his pinkies burned when Congress got wind of it and raised a stink; Now Bush Too is using this as a means to accomplish precisely that, using the smokescreen of Federal alw against illicit drugs as a convenient camouflage to grab a bigger prize when he thinks no one is looking...And the worst part of it is, the real patriots who call attention to this underhanded power-grab will be branded as - you guessed it! - 'terrorist collaborators' for even thinking the Feds have ulterior motives. 
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Comment #5 posted by i420 on October 05, 2001 at 06:08:56 PT

Thanks again to FoM for bringing us cannabisnews.c
There is only so much one can take before they strike like a cobra. This is clearly violating human rights.... Ya kap last time they got their fingers burnt i hope this time they get their d**** knocked in the dirt. they sure deserve it.
I was very ticked the other day front page on the paper 3 cops standing in front of some marijuana plants while terrorist's thief's murderer's and the like have free rain to victimize us and our familys. 99% of amerikans don't have the guts to speak out my friends we are the 1% of the majority.You ever seen a 2% patch on a bikers jacket ??? 
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Comment #4 posted by lookinside on October 05, 2001 at 04:53:38 PT:

can everyone pronounce...
POGROM???this word may be in our first grader's spelling lists soon...
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on October 05, 2001 at 04:47:13 PT:

Somehow, E. I don't believe they will
The Feds have been waiting for this for some time. And now, while the country has its’ collective back turned and distracted by the Terr Scare, they figured – correctly – that this would be the perfect opportunity to strike.Notice: they didn’t try to pull this stunt immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling. That would have been just too raw. People were ready to make a Constitutional challenge; the same kind that was made by doctors in California when McC, Reno and Shalala threatened doctors with revocation of their drug licenses for suggesting patients use cannabis. When the doctors won their permanent injunction on First Amendment grounds, the Feds got their fingers badly burned, backed off and stuck them in their mouths. But the Feds believe that the new Administration is going to back them up in anything they do; Crosslin’s and Rohm’s deaths was a test, just as Waco and Ruby Ridge was. Since there was no general hue and cry, the Feds have gotten bolder. Now they seek to do what the previous Administration knew it could not do after it had been smacked on the nose with the First Amendment. Now they are brazenly challenging the very basis of State’s Rights by their actions. The gloves have finally come off. There’s no mistaking the import of these actions; it is a direct assault upon the ideas underlying the 9th and 10th Amendments. It is nothing short of a wedge to split apart State suzerainty and render it moot. This assault on Prop215 is nothing short of a backdoor attack upon all State governments. It is ‘sending a message’ to State governments that they can continue to play their little debating society games, but the major decisions will be made entirely at the Federal levels from now on. And because the Feds correctly believe that since it will be perceived by most people of this country as being a minor matter because it only affects a minority - a officially hated minority - they feel that they can get away with it. And thus a very dangerous breach is opened and allowing another pseudopod of the grasping Federal amoeba to stick itself into our lives. 

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Comment #2 posted by lookinside on October 05, 2001 at 04:15:35 PT:

i think..
the government is run by self deluding crusaders who will kill people to protect them...don't expect compassion from these folks...they have none...i think these criminal cops and lawyers are acting on orders from above...if the magistrate allows them to use those records, it will be time to revolt, because the constitution is dead....at that point we may begin to wonder if osama bin laden has the moral high ground...
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on October 04, 2001 at 22:32:48 PT

The KGB had to read Solzhenitsyn
Reading medical files can be pretty depressing. I don't think they would be unaffected by what they read there. Who knows, maybe it will humanize them.
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