cannabisnews.com: DEA Seizes Pot from Medical Marijuana Operation





DEA Seizes Pot from Medical Marijuana Operation
Posted by CN Staff on September 04, 2004 at 20:29:20 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press 
Roseville, Calif. - Federal agents raided a medical marijuana operation and seized hundreds of plants at the owner's nearby garden.The Drug Enforcement Agency served search warrants Friday at Richard Marino's home and business, Capitol Compassionate Care, which opened in January. No arrests were made.
"We will collect all the evidence and present the case to the U.S. attorney's office," said Gordon Taylor, agent-in-charge of the DEA's Sacramento office.Alan Archuleta, a shift manager, said agents stormed in at 9:30 a.m., guns drawn, and yelling for everyone inside to get on the ground. "I thought we were being robbed until I saw the badge. For a split second, it was very traumatizing."Marino later spoke to The Sacramento Bee by phone from an undisclosed location, the newspaper reported Saturday."I thought I was doing everything above board," he said. "I still think I'm doing everything above board."The conflict between state and federal law regarding medical marijuana deepened recently after two rulings by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that federal authorities do not have the power to go after noncommercial medical marijuana operations confined within the state. The U.S. Department of Justice is appealing the cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.While Marino is breaking federal law, which holds that possessing and cultivating marijuana is illegal, he is not breaking state law. California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which allows qualified patients to use medical marijuana.And last year, the Legislature passed a law that enabled the growing and selling of medicinal marijuana. The law broadened the definition of a medical marijuana caregiver and allows for the drug's collective cultivation.Richard Meyer, special agent in the DEA's San Francisco division, said other medical marijuana dispensaries in California "should know that they are breaking the law ... they should get out of the business of selling drugs."Since early July, Marino has been growing hundreds of marijuana plants on the 5 acres he recently purchased in Newcastle. The plants were surrounded by barbed-wire fencing, and security guards patrolled the property 24 hours a day.On Friday, federal agents dug up the plants and carried them away. Agents said the marijuana will be destroyed, but declined to say how many plants were seized or what their value was. Source: Associated Press Published:  September 4, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmMedical Pot Shop Shut Downhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19441.shtmlPot Plot in Foothills Sparks High Anxietyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19407.shtmlFew Complaints About Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18666.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 08, 2004 at 23:58:31 PT
Related Article from ABC News 10
Medical Marijuana Advocates Demonstrate at Federal Building Wednesday, September 08, 2004 About 20 protesters demonstrated in front of the federal building in Sacramento this afternoon in support of a local medical marijuana store that was raided Friday by federal drug agents.The Capitol Compassionate Care Co-op is open for business again, but things have changed since Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided it. The owner, Richard Marino, says many customers are staying away and that he now has less marijuana to provide to patients with prescriptions.On Friday, DEA agents entered the Roseville store with guns drawn. They briefly handcuffed Marino's son, then released him. Marino says he doesn't just object to what agents did, but he questions the way they did it. "We are a business," he said. "We have a business license, we carry insurance, we have doctors writing prescriptions to us. We're set up like a pharmacy. Knock on the door. Make a phone call. Don't come running in with guns drawn," said Marino.Agents gathered evidence they will turn over to the U.S. Attorney's office for possible prosecution. While state law allows for the sale of marijuana for medicinal use, federal law does not. "This federal government can't seem to find anything better to do with their resources than chase down sick people and bust them for growing weed," said one medical marijuana advocate who wanted to be identified only as "Tim."Marino says as far as he knows, this is only the second time federal agents have raided one of the state's three dozen medicinal marijuana stores. He thinks it may have been a response to complaints by neighbors over marijuana he was growing legally in his backyard in Lincoln. 
 Copyright: 2004 Gannett Co., Inc.http://www.news10.net/storyfull1.asp?id=8019
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 08, 2004 at 19:27:13 PT
Related Article from TheKCRAChannel
Roseville Medical Marijuana Store Reopens After DEA RaidPatients' Records Also ConfiscatedSeptember 8, 2004ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- Just days after federal agents raided a Roseville medical marijuana shop, the "open" sign is back up and customers are lining up. 
 
 Last Friday, agents from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration shut down the store -- Capitol Compassionate Care -- while they executed a search warrant. They seized boxes full of marijuana, computer equipment and patient records."What I've read in the search warrant is that they've taken those records and sealed them. They're not supposed to be visible to anybody," said storeowner Richard Marino.Marino said agents also seized a couple hundred plants from the backyard of his home in Newcastle. So, where is he getting the marijuana that he's selling now?"I happen to have some reserves. And so, that's what we're using, our reserves," Marino said."Wherever they got it, God bless 'em," said Yuba City resident John Fick."I was surprised. And at the same time, I was overjoyed," said Sacramento resident Neoma Denny.Customers said there's less selection to choose from now and receipts have to be written out by hand. But for now, there seems to be no shortage of medical marijuana.At the federal courthouse in Sacramento Wednesday, a dozen medical marijuana supporters protested against this most recent raid. But they also said that -- in some ways -- the federal government is actually helping their cause."Every time the DEA attacks another medical marijuana facility, the public awareness of medical marijuana rights goes up. The support for medical marijuana patients goes up," said Americas for Safe Access spokeswoman Hilary McQuie.In the eight years since California voters approved Proposition 215, support for medical marijuana has gone from 56 percent to 74 percent. And the number of medical marijuana stores has grown to about 100.Backers of medical marijuana said the drug is going to seriously ill patients, but research shows that is not always the case. A study by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws shows that 40 percent of medical pot users get the drug to control chronic pain, and almost one-quarter use it for AIDS-related illnesses. Others request the marijuana because of mood disorders.Copyright 2004 by TheKCRAChannel
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 06, 2004 at 08:43:46 PT
Shishaldin
Thank you! It must have been what I would call a little bit of Heaven! It should be that way everywhere. I can't wait to see the pictures. Your comment made my day! WAMMFEST a Hit Among Medical-Pot Users: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19447.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by Shishaldin on September 06, 2004 at 00:14:54 PT
I got a hug from Valerie today :)
Hi All-Even with the sadness of the DEA's ripping up of Mr. Marino's plants (rotten no-good thieves), I'm on a major stoke right now. I went to the WAMM Fest in Rasta (Santa) Cruz in record breaking heat (93 degrees). I know you folks in AZ just scoff at numbers like that, but it really was HOT for this area and this time of year. Usually, we get fog until the tourist season dies down, and then Indian Summer blesses us with the best weather all year for a couple of months. But I digress...The WAMM fest was great! I got to meet Valerie Corral and yes FoM, I did relay your message to her. She sends her love and blessings right back (FoM, I just happened to get your hug as the messenger (grin). I'll give it to you whenever we happen to meet in the future). I have pictures I will post of the whole event tomorrow. I'll post the URL when it's ready.Guess who else I met? None other than the true Compassionate Cannabinist hero, Brian Epis! I just happened to meet him accidentally when he said he was looking to meet up with Valerie, because he hadn't seen her for 7 or so years. I had seen her just minutes before, so I told him where she was. He said he'd just gotten out of prison for following State Law, and then he mentioned his name. My jaw dropped, and then I shook his hand. He must have thought I was a freak, because I kept stepping all over my tongue when I tried to talk to him. He's a ROCK STAR to me!Bruce Mirken of MPP was there, too! So many folks I just had read about before, were right there in front of me! What a complete stoke!Anyhow, it was truly inspirational and just great. LEO presence was ZERO, quite amazing considering that the park the event was held in is RIGHT BEHIND the courthouse! Besides, our cops understand that it's ALCOHOL and the people under it's influence that cause the problems on this Labor Day Weekend, not medical (or recreational) marijuana users...I love my Santa Cruz!As I said before, pictures are forthcoming...You all have a great Labor Day, and (as always) I wish youPeace and Strength,Shishaldin
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Comment #3 posted by goneposthole on September 05, 2004 at 05:00:00 PT
Question
Who wants a government that callously and wantonly destroys the very nature of its existence?I wonder who that is.
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on September 04, 2004 at 22:01:41 PT
Good news and bad news.
It requires registration to read the original link at http://news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=1043242004 The article is best seen at http://tinyurl.com/6trdp The bad news is the Purple Haze is closing. The good news is another cannabis cafe is coming to Scotland. The copy and paste below is not continuos..THE owner of Scotland’s first cannabis cafe today announced he was quitting the Capital to work in an Amsterdam coffee shop..Paul Stewart, 37, who opened the Purple Haze Cafe in Leith earlier this year, said he was fed up with the "backward" nature of Scotland’s drug laws..Cult book publisher and author Kevin Williamson is planning to open another cafe in the Capital. Mr Williamson, who is the Scottish Socialist Party’s drugs spokesman, said Purple Haze was a "test case" and he had been waiting to see what punishment Stewart received.Following the £500 fine, Mr Williamson said its was a "token slap on the wrists", adding that plans would be drawn up to open another cannabis cafe, this time in the city centre.
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Comment #1 posted by observer on September 04, 2004 at 21:11:44 PT
FYI, book online now: Drug War Propaganda
FYII just placed a book online with permission from the author. This is the first time the whole book has been made available to the public.Drug War Propaganda, (c) 2003apx. 100,000 words http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/ (see link on right hand side of the page for the book)You need to register to read it; Registration is free and asks you only for a valid email address.
http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/
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