cannabisnews.com: Raid of Med. Marijuana Co-op Touches Off Protests





Raid of Med. Marijuana Co-op Touches Off Protests
Posted by CN Staff on September 16, 2002 at 19:48:06 PT
By John Ritter, USA Today
Source: USA Today 
Santa Cruz, Calif. — A raid by federal drug agents on a medical marijuana cooperative has touched off a bitter confrontation between state and local officials and the federal government over the legality of using marijuana as medicine. To protest the Sept. 5 raid, the City Council Tuesday will allow the cooperative near here to publicly dispense marijuana to some of its members, many of whom are terminally ill cancer and AIDS patients.
Voters in California and eight other states have approved medical use of marijuana. But federal authorities have cracked down on clubs and co-ops that dispense marijuana to the sick because they say it violates federal laws against possession and distribution of a controlled substance — marijuana.Drug Enforcement Administration agents have busted eight clubs in California since last year, including the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) north of here. The DEA has not targeted individuals who use marijuana as medicine."What the DEA concentrates on is the investigation and prosecution of major trafficking cases," DEA administrator Asa Hutchinson says. "But the DEA's responsibility is to enforce our controlled substances laws, and one of them is marijuana."California Attorney General Bill Lockyear, in a strongly worded letter to federal authorities, called the WAMM bust a waste of law enforcement resources and a cruel act against a group that presents slight danger to the public. Lockyear said "I must also question the ethical basis" for raids that don't result in prosecutions. In several of the raids, U.S. attorneys have declined to bring charges.Complete Title: Raid of Medical Marijuana Co-op Touches Off Protest Snipped:  Complete Article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-16-raid-usat_x.htm Source: USA Today (US)Author: John Ritter, USA TodayPublished: September 16, 2002Copyright: 2002 USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.Contact: editor usatoday.comWebsite: http://www.usatoday.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Americans for Safe Access http://www.safeaccessnow.orgNews Articles on WAMM Raidhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/valc.htmWolf Blitzer Reports Transcripts: WAMM Raidhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14130.shtmlOdd Twists Leave Couple in Center of Pot Debatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14122.shtmlUS Ignoring Marijuana Research http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14120.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on September 16, 2002 at 21:48:52 PT
The NY Times must think it news not fit to print
The 12:38 online edition of the NY Times does not think the story or any story worth of mention. Can you guess the results of a word search for marijuana. You would be right if you said: There were no matches for your search marijuana / Today.1,2
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Comment #1 posted by BGreen on September 16, 2002 at 21:18:04 PT
The rest of the story and my profound statement
Medical marijuana advocates say prosecutors refuse to bring cases because they know juries won't convict.Challenging federal policyOne of WAMM's lawyers, Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen, says the case could challenge federal actions against medical marijuana on constitutional grounds. The Supreme Court ruled in May that medical necessity cannot be used as a defense against charges of violating federal drug laws.But Uelmen says the justices didn't rule on whether states could legalize medical marijuana under the 10th Amendment, which grants states powers not exercised by the federal government, such as regulating medical practices. And under the 14th Amendment's due process guarantee, Uelmen argues, patients have a right to medicine that provides relief. The conflict between federal and state laws over medical marijuana puts local authorities in an awkward position. Today, Santa Cruz police will be at City Hall to enforce the law — California's medical marijuana law and laws against possession and sale."You can imagine the level of discomfort we have sometimes in dealing with this issue," says Steve Clark, head of the police department's investigations unit.At WAMM's co-op overlooking the Pacific, Mike Corral walks among the bare rows in the now-decimated marijuana garden, the stumps of once healthy plants protruding from the dirt, and wonders what will become of the co-op. "We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope that sometime between now and March we'll be able to replant," he says.***********************************************************The feds are looking like the evil slime they really are.
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