cannabisnews.com: Lockyer Assails Federal Pot Operations





Lockyer Assails Federal Pot Operations
Posted by CN Staff on September 07, 2002 at 09:07:04 PT
By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer
Source: Sacramento Bee
California's attorney general on Friday requested a meeting with top U.S. drug officials to discuss "a growing list of provocative and intrusive incidents of harassment" by federal agents against medical marijuana growers.Raids of locally sanctioned pot operations are being carried out with disdain for local law enforcement, undermining joint efforts "to fight dangerous drugs and the major narco-terrorist organizations that manufacture and distribute them," state Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.
The letter was sent by fax to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Asa Hutchinson, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Calls to the U.S. Justice Department, where both work, were not returned after it was released late Friday.Marijuana has been legal for certified medical use in California since 1996, but remains illegal under federal law. Federal agents at first ignored most growers who complied with state law. That changed in 2001, Lockyer said, when medical users became targets of "punitive expeditions," carried out regardless of whether convictions could be won.Lockyer's letter came a day after a DEA raid on a medical marijuana farm north of Santa Cruz that has operated openly for several years in cooperation with county law enforcement.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/4304645p-5324395c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished: Saturday, September 7, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/ Pot Bust Draws Statewide Protests http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14031.shtmlNo Charges After DEA Anti-Pot Raids http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14030.shtmlDEA Raid Sparks Medical Marijuana Protests http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14023.shtmlSanta Cruz Officials Fume Over Pot Club Busthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14015.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on September 07, 2002 at 22:05:01 PT
Jeaneous
Sounds like Your on the front lines.Lockyer's letter is another in a line of positive moves.It caught Me off guard, but it is another good hammer swing busting down the wall.Lockyer has been lame long enough.
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Comment #1 posted by Jeaneous on September 07, 2002 at 13:14:58 PT:
My LTE
To the Sac Bee for their article....It is about time that someone in our California administration is even willing to send a fax to the DEA. I myself called them to complain of their actions in our state. Where are our representatives? Do they hear us? I also called them about the bust in Santa Cruz. They are keeping a tally as to which issues receives more phone calls.... the bust or going to war with Iraq. If that is how are representatives choose their issues to make a stand on for re-election we are all in trouble. But that seems to be the case.Medicinal marijuana has been legal in California since 1996. 56% of you Californians voted to let patients use their medicine. Most of you assume that the Law honors Proposition 215 when just the opposite is true. The clubs that are being closed now are some of the longest running and most compassionate there are. But the DEA has decided they know better for us and have decided to terrorize patients and caregivers of medicinal marijuana. Mr. Lockyer we have begged for your assistance since you entered your office. I am glad to hear you sent a fax. In reality you should stand between the Federal Terrorism of the patients in this State. You and Lou Blanas. The sheriff has the power to keep out the DEA. Why isn't he??I hope your fax gets more than a form letter response that most of us pee on citizens get. We've been sending faxes and writing letters and attending trials and protesting these actions for years.One sentence says it all. DEA GO AWAY!Jean CowsertWe can't keep quiet any longer...wrote to Phil too. After I spoke with "Tom" from the DEA their site reflected the survey. I wonder if their survey consisted of calls they received about their bust? 
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