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  Federal Prosecutors Launching Crackdown on CA 

Posted by CN Staff on October 07, 2011 at 07:10:27 PT
By  The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press  

San Francisco -- Federal prosecutors in California are cracking down on some of the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries, signaling an escalation of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. government and the nation’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry.The four U.S. attorneys in California, the first state to pass a law legalizing marijuana use for patients with doctors’ recommendations, have scheduled a joint news conference Friday where they plan to “outline actions targeting the sale, distribution and cultivation of marijuana.”
Their offices refused to provide details in advance what moves the officials are taking or how many of the state’s hundreds of storefront pot shops would be affected. But at least 16 pot shops or their landlords received letters this week warning face they would face criminal charges and confiscation of their property if the dispensaries do not shut down in 45 days.The Associated Press obtained copies of the letters that a prosecutor sent to at least 12 San Diego dispensaries. They state that federal law “takes precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana.”“Under United States law, a dispensary’s operations involving sales and distribution of marijuana are illegal and subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions,” according to the letters signed by U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in San Diego. “Real and personal property involved in such operations are subject to seizure by and forfeiture to the United States ... regardless of the purported purpose of the dispensary.”The move comes a little more than two months after the Obama administration toughened its stand on medical marijuana. For two years before that, federal officials had indicated they would not move aggressively against dispensaries in compliance with laws in the 16 states where pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations.The Department of Justice issued a policy memo to federal prosecutors in late June stating that marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws. The effort to shutter California dispensaries appeared to be the most far-reaching effort so far to put that guidance into action.Greg Anton, a lawyer who represents dispensary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said its landlord received an “extremely threatening” letter Wednesday invoking a federal law that imposes additional penalties for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and playgrounds.The landlord was ordered to evict the 14-year-old pot club or risk imprisonment, plus forfeiture of the property and all the rent he has collected while the dispensary has been in business, Anton said.Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, said the warnings are part of what appears to be an attempt by the Obama administration to curb medical marijuana on multiple fronts and through multiple agencies. A series of dispensary raids in Montana, for example, involved agents from not only the FBI and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, but the Internal Revenue Service and Environmental Protection Agency.Going after property owners is not a new tactic though, Hermes said. Five years ago, the Department of Justice under President George W. Bush made similar threats to about 300 Los Angeles-area landlords who were renting space to medical marijuana outlets, some of whom were eventually evicted or closed their doors voluntarily, he said.“It did have an impact. However, the federal government never acted on its threats, never prosecuted anybody, never even went to court to begin prosecutions,” Hermes said. “By and large, they were empty threats, but they relied on them and the cost of postage to shut down as many facilities as they could without having to engage in criminal enforcement activity.”The San Diego medical marijuana outlets put on notice were the same dozen that city officials sued last month for operating illegally, after activists there threatened to force an election on a zoning plan adopted to regulate the city’s fast-growing medical marijuana industry, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said. A judge on Wednesday ordered nine of the targeted shops to close, while the other three shut down voluntarily, Goldsmith said.Duffy, the U.S. attorney for far Southern California, planned to issue warning letters to property owners and all of the 180 or so dispensaries that have proliferated in San Diego in the absence of compromise regulations, according to Goldsmith.“The real power is with the federal government,” he said. “They have the asset forfeiture, and that means either the federal government will own a lot of property or these landlords will evict a lot of dispensaries.”Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: October 7, 2011 Copyright: 2011 The Associated PressCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml

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Comment #76 posted by FoM on January 04, 2012 at 15:08:33 PT
Afterburner
I have heard about the earthquakes. I hope we learn more before they cause a lot more trouble in different areas of our state or any state. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #75 posted by afterburner on January 04, 2012 at 12:31:57 PT
FoM #74
Ohio Earthquakes Caused By Drilling Wastewater Well, Expert Says.
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN  01/ 2/12 09:33 PM ET  AP.
Follow  Video , Earthquakes Fracking , Fracking Earthquakes , Fracking Linked To Earthquakes , Fracking Quakes , Ohio Earthquakes , Ohio Fracking , Ohio Wastewater Drilling , Canada News
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/02/ohio-earthquakes-caused-by-wastewater-well-drilling_n_1180094.html?ref=canada&ir=CanadaWatch out for those waste water drilling plans. Look at the damage that's already happened in northeastern Ohio.Here's hoping that the damage done will act as a brake on further irresponsible fracking plans.On a more positive note, here is a hopeful view of humankind's progress toward a more loving society:NaturalNews declares 2012 the year of consciousness.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012.
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger.
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
http://www.naturalnews.com/034554_consciousness_awakening_2012.html"Fear is the lock and laughter the key to your heart." -CSNY, Teach Your Children.This is why Republicans fight compassionate laws and compassion centers: they are lead by fear; their hearts are locked; they refuse compassion, one of the unifying principles of true religion and society. God is love. God is with us. The Word took on human flesh and pitched his tent among us.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #74 posted by FoM on December 16, 2011 at 12:22:58 PT
Afterburner
We love living in this peaceful section of the world and we hope it isn't wrecked by the fracking people.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #73 posted by afterburner on December 16, 2011 at 11:40:17 PT
FoM
excellent!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #72 posted by FoM on December 16, 2011 at 11:07:14 PT
Afterburner
Where we built we have been very lucky so far. We live up higher then a good deal of South Eastern Ohio. We aren't near anywhere that they mined coal either. We have great water and I want to keep it that way. It is our Republican governor that has stirred up fracking in our area. Lots of people have signed leases but we haven't. This is what we have been doing recently.PS: The cement truck in the picture was in a Transformer movie. It still has the emblem on it.
Our Garage Project
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #71 posted by afterburner on December 16, 2011 at 10:46:33 PT
FoM
Sorry about the waste dump. At least it's not directly close to you. Southern Ohio has been laced with toxic runoff from the early coal mining too. As a child my parents took me to Lake Hope for holidays. The scenery was beautiful, nature retaking the land, but the water was full of sulfuric acid.It's no wonder the tea-publicans want to get rid of the EPA.Coupled with the following c-news link, it shows a long-standing disregard for nature, the environment and the local populations:{ Also curiously absent during the 1700s was the concept of the private, "For-Profit" Corporation. Corporations only came into existence to serve some public need, like bridges, tunnels, canals, in short: Infrastructure.The Corporation as we know it today, did not come into existence until legislators in the states of Delaware and New Jersey "were made to understand" that they could either stand with Rockefeller and change their rules of incorporation or against him and run the risk of being "Rockefeller Roadkill". } --Oleg the Tumor #1 Lawsuit Filed Over Seattle's MMJ Ordinance 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/26/thread26803.shtml#1
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #70 posted by FoM on December 16, 2011 at 09:10:14 PT
Afterburner
Thank you. They are making a fracking fluid disposal well in our local city. Since it is illegal to dump in PA I believe they are wanting to put it in our area. The residents are really upset yet they never put anything on their online version of the newspaper. Luckily it is over 20 miles from here. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #69 posted by afterburner on December 16, 2011 at 08:31:13 PT
FoM - more on Fracking
AlterNet / By Nina Berman.
32 COMMENTS.
Air Too Dangerous to Breathe: How Gas Drilling Can Turn Rural Communities Into Industrial Wastelands [With Photos].
Drilling is just the tip of the iceberg. Compressor stations have been associated with significant headaches, bloody noses, skin lesions, blisters, and rashes. 
December 13, 2011.
READ MORE...
http://www.alternet.org/story/153417/air_too_dangerous_to_breathe%3A_how_gas_drilling_can_turn_rural_communities_into_industrial_wastelands_%5Bwith_photos%5D?akid=7993.313040.PqO3uD&rd=1&t=2EPA finally acknowledges fracking dangers.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 by: Tara Green
http://www.naturalnews.com/034401_EPA_fracking_well_water.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #68 posted by FoM on November 07, 2011 at 20:17:32 PT
Hope
I don't know how I think about it right now. There were many gas and oil wells around this area and one was something else. They capped most of them back then. One well caught on fire and every night we would go out on the porch and watch it burn. It was many miles away and it lit up the night sky. They brought in Red Adair and he finally got it out. Southeastern Ohio is a very poor area and the forums I am checking everyone is so happy because it will bring lots of money into the area. The money isn't what makes me try to learn as much as possible. I don't measure things by money but by value. We are safe from any immediate threats except a pipeline but we already have a gas pipeline that was run out over our land in the early 80s. You can't even see it it is small but I want to know how big this pipeline would be. They can make us do it if they get a certain percentage of land required. It's not easy to know how to proceed but we are being left alone for now and we are talking with our neighbors about it all. They are as confused as we are. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #67 posted by Hope on November 07, 2011 at 17:47:12 PT
Comment 65 Afterburner
That picture with that article looks like a scene from my early childhood. Except the lights weren't orange tinted. They were incandescent. Big time. Up close they were giant, I mean huge, clear light bulbs. Many heavy duty strings of them from top to bottom of the wells. There was a giant flaming light bulb about every three to five feet in every direction. It was brighter than day out there at night. All night. And noise. Lots of noise, chugs, slams, and rumblings and vehicles coming and going. They were oil wells as opposed to gas wells. They were probably a half mile, maybe more, away... but they shone for miles and miles and miles. Your terrain might protect you from some of that. It must feel like a terrible invasion there, FoM. I'm so sorry.Then again, I remember how more people have moved in around me over the years. Change happens. I have no doubt whatever happens and whatever you do, you'll manage it well.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #66 posted by FoM on November 07, 2011 at 12:40:52 PT
afterburner
Thank you for the article. We haven't gone to one meeting and have avoided talking to the gas men. I want to stall as long as I can. The price on land rental keeps going up. The only good thing is that they can't put anything on our land or land near us. They need near 600 feet between homes and out here the homes are more like 500 feet apart.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #65 posted by afterburner on November 07, 2011 at 12:17:14 PT
FoM - on Fracking
AlterNet / By Nina Berman.
70 COMMENTS.
Fight or Flight: Meet the Residents Taking on Gas Drillers, and Those Packing Their Bags [With Photo Slideshow].
As rural areas become industrialized thanks to gas drilling, residents have to make difficult choices.
October 31, 2011.
View a photo slideshow by award-winning photojournalist Nina Berman at the end of this story.
http://www.alternet.org/story/152919/fight_or_flight%3A_meet_the_residents_taking_on_gas_drillers%2C_and_those_packing_their_bags_%5Bwith_photo_slideshow%5D?page=entire
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #64 posted by Hope on October 26, 2011 at 17:18:55 PT
Water
I so hate that your water is in danger from these companies. And it apparently is if other people's experiences are anything to go by. Water and air. Those things need to be clean. Really clean.One thing though is that since the gas is already there, it may have been a little in your water and all around you for a long time and you may be accustomed to it in it's natural state. That's a hope. Maybe it won't mess anything up.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #63 posted by FoM on October 26, 2011 at 05:22:20 PT
Hope
It is scary but more then that I mind people telling me I have to do something when I don't want to do something. We have information from a lawyer we have used a couple times before for other issues sending us a landowner friendly lease to go over rather then the people knocking on our door. If Obama can remove Bush's not responsible for water well damage it will help everyone so much.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #62 posted by Hope on October 25, 2011 at 21:57:50 PT
Drilling under your place...
near your water wells.That is very scary. That is not good.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #61 posted by FoM on October 25, 2011 at 19:39:01 PT
Hope
The wind wouldn't blow towards us but it would blow away from us. That's the way the wind currents go around here. What upsets me is the whole thing. I will be able to live with it since I won't see it but they sure are pushy. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #60 posted by FoM on October 25, 2011 at 19:35:57 PT
Hope
The only thing going for us is we are the second highest peak in our county. Where they want to drill is way down in the bottom of our little mountain. Our well is about 125 feet deep and they will drill and case straight down. It's way more then 125 feet below us. Most water wells get hurt while they are going down I have been reading about.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #59 posted by Hope on October 25, 2011 at 17:51:19 PT
Dang!
I'm so sorry. It's sickening. I was afraid something like this could happen. Oil and gas companies have huge leveraging power and money. Property rights can be kicked aside by government when they are convinced that eminent domain or something like it is more profitable than letting people control their own property and lives.They can level mountains and make roads where roads didn't exist. I pray they don't destroy the natural environment around there and that whatever they do doesn't upset the tranquility of your life there too much. A mile on flat land and upwind from you is not far enough. Maybe the hills will intervene and the wind will blow their uproar away from you all.Dang!I'm so sorry.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #58 posted by FoM on October 25, 2011 at 17:17:01 PT
More on Fracking
They aren't leaving us alone. They will drill under us even if we say no. Thank you Republican Governor Kasich for pushing this on us. They want to run a pipe line across the road on our road ( no well here luckily though but about a mile away ) and pay us but not the neighbors because they have less land. We contacted a lawyer today. He said unfortunately they can do what they want in Ohio and Bush made it in 2005 so there is no water damage responsibility. Obama will be receiving a report in December on water and chemical safety so hopefully we will be able to keep them away until then. All kinds of oil companies are here in our county now. It's down right crazy. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #57 posted by FoM on October 12, 2011 at 18:11:50 PT
Hope
The more I read the more I think we don't have enough land to do a well anywhere near us unless it was on our land which has a big flat couple of acres. The rest is very rolling with dense woods and no road access. We have enough homes on our road that just don't have enough extra room for a fracking operation luckily. Most people only own 5 acres and have used their land for a home and garage and storage buildings. The next roads are way over a half a mile in both directions and not flat but very hilly and hard to even walk on they are so steep. Lots of Ohio is flat but not around here fortunately. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #56 posted by Hope on October 12, 2011 at 16:20:26 PT
Some people believe that that fuel
is the life blood of the country and life as we know it will stop if we do not find and use it.This, obviously, is a very serious situation and it's a serious divide between people. I've been around and lived relatively near some of this sort of stuff. Definitely not something most people would want in their backyard.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #55 posted by FoM on October 12, 2011 at 15:56:15 PT
Hope
Good video. What a horrible mess. Where will people live except cramped in a city if they keep doing whatever they want? Some politicians don't like that common people own land. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #54 posted by Hope on October 12, 2011 at 14:22:18 PT
Here's a little two acre well site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QefLQKLb5co&feature=related
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #53 posted by FoM on October 12, 2011 at 09:28:12 PT
afterburner
I agree with you. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #52 posted by afterburner on October 12, 2011 at 09:15:18 PT
Fracking Is Horrible - People's Water Catches Fire
I have already written to my congress-critters voicing my opposition to this mad method of generating dirty energy to the great expense of local residents, their health and the beauty and sustainability of nature.Keith Brooks.
Keith Brooks.
Project manager, Environmental Defence.
Green Jobs Are Not a Hoax.
Posted: 10/11/11 08:47 AM ET.
Follow  Green Energy ,  Green Jobs ,  Clean Energy Jobs ,  Health Care ,  Renewable Energy ,  Solar Energy , Green Economy , Green Energy Act , Job Satisfaction , Wind Energy , Health Risks , Ontario , Polluted Environment , Renewables , Solar Power , Solyndra , Steelworkers , Wind Turbines , Canada News
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/keith-brooks/green-jobs-are-not-a-hoax_b_996948.htmlFor at least 40 years the oil & coal industries has fed us the false dichotomy: jobs or the environment. As Keith Brooks points out above, the reality today is jobs and the environment. FoM, stick to your ideals. Better, cleaner times are coming. Fracking is just another last gasp greedy move by the fossil fuel industries. They refuse to plan for green alternatives in any significant way, focusing instead on bigger, badder methods like fracking to extract money from our home, mother earth. This is what the TeaParty is really about, posers, puppets & pretenders fronting for the oil-rich billionaires, who have no respect for nature, plants, animals nor human traditions and values.
Stop, Think & Contemplate: BP, Fukushima & Fracking: Is Our Future in Jeopardy? 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #51 posted by Hope on October 12, 2011 at 09:06:43 PT
Sinkholes?
I got to thinking about sinkholes from fracking last night. I don't know if it happens .... but it sure looks like it could.There is a major prohibitionist lash back attack going on. The fact that the latest Rand study, on it being safer around dispensaries, was withdrawn. What the heck, for real, is that about? I'm scared to think.RAND Withdraws Medical Marijuana Study About Crime Statshttp://studiocity.patch.com/articles/rand-withdraws-medical-marijuana-study-about-crime-stats
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #50 posted by FoM on October 12, 2011 at 06:06:38 PT
Hope
We have a great person on our side against fracking and it made me smile.http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-35009-thanks-athens-for-telling-forest-service-no-fracking-way.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #49 posted by Hope on October 11, 2011 at 21:55:13 PT
      Ok
I sure hope they don't ruin your countryside.And that the old 'puter doesn't fail before you're ready to replace it.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #48 posted by FoM on October 11, 2011 at 20:18:28 PT
Hope Just a Note
I sent you one more e-mail but my computer started acting old like it is so I am not sure you got it. I will try again tomorrow.
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #47 posted by FoM on October 11, 2011 at 17:01:31 PT

Hope
I know people are desperate for money but somethings seem totally wrong. Find barren land and stay away from where people live. We have plenty of land where no one lives with 100s of acres they can use. Our neighbor who owns the mineral rights is said to still have the first penny he ever made. Luckily there are many children that will need to agree and none of them get along. Hopefully they will fight over the bottom dollar for many years and stay away from here. I am following the laws in our state and we are protected better then many states. That is why we stand a fighting chance at keeping them from drilling near us I hope.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #46 posted by FoM on October 11, 2011 at 16:55:05 PT

Hope
I know you are right. The Republican Governor we have now has done this. Our last Governor wouldn't have considered it. They want to drill in our beautiful state park and the Governor gave them the OK. I wonder how some people sleep at night. I'd have to drink myself into oblivion and I don't drink.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #45 posted by Hope on October 11, 2011 at 16:32:38 PT

Fracking
As I understand it... it's much worse than regular drilling for poisoning the land, the water, the wildlife, and the people... and not just at the site of the actual drilling and removal. They haul poisoned dirt to other locations too. It dries and the wind blows it and more air and more property is poisoned. Plus the trucks and the business of the workers and equipment goes on twenty four hours a day. I understand it's a nightmare for people that live near any of it's workings.Texas has some horror stories about it.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #44 posted by FoM on October 11, 2011 at 12:31:43 PT

museman
If you look at the pictures I posted you will see how much I love God's land that we are blessed to live on while on this earth. We have wonderful water and you can't live without it. Our neighbor who lives next to us called me yesterday and asked if the gas man came and what did I think. He doesn't have a computer. I talked his ear off since I have been researching for a few months when I heard Haliburton is here now too. We own 25 acres and they need 40 to do a well by fracking. Without our land  I don't believe it can be done. They can't put a well closer then 100 feet from a residence so we will break ground for a few houses if necessary to keep them at bay. I will use any legal way to keep them from wrecking our land.Thank you.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #43 posted by museman on October 11, 2011 at 11:10:14 PT

FoM
Oh no! Don't let 'em drill. I had an experience many years ago where the money offered some landowners totally destroyed a community. Not only will they poison the immediate environment, but they are some really crass people, with crap for values. Your decision to not go for the money -which would be only a drop in the amount they would reap from the practice- will be worth it in the long run.Though we've personally never met, I don't think your values are in question at all.And it never ceases to amaze me how you do what you do!LEGALIZE FREEDOM
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #42 posted by FoM on October 11, 2011 at 10:25:47 PT

museman
Things have been happening so fast these days. Thanks to the Obama Administration our worries about money are over. I will have health insurance now too called ChampVA. Now the frackers are coming. We are sitting on a very valuable piece of land. We don't own the mineral rights but what they offered us to rent our land would pay off almost every bill we have. I have to make sure they don't win and try to drill on our land. I love this land and as long as I am alive I want it to stay pretty with excellent pure clean water. Money isn't everything to us.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #41 posted by museman on October 11, 2011 at 09:46:22 PT

Had Enough
In answer to your rhetorical question;I was a slave, just like all the other working class in amerika. Hell I was a 'young republican' and put many volunteer hours in getting Nixon elected! But I rejected the mantra. I didn't "rebel" so much -the connotations of that word don't sit well with me- as attempt to choose and alternative.Calling awakening 'rebellion' is kinda like calling all cannabis reformers 'lazy hippies.'Saying no to bullshit is not rebellion, its just getting real, getting back to neutral so you can move on.Resist, yes. Go against the backward flow of the political sewer, as opposed to the forward flow of creation, yes.Revolution can come in more than one form. 'Rebellion' is deliberate polarization, and does not necessarily mean there is a solution attached to the action.- and though I feel it important to note the extreme error of the established position, as well as its negative polarity to the intended, natural, and natural human systems it tries to kill on a daily basis, and I feel it important that those who continue to support those systems out of programmed response get to look at the alternatives, even if they continue to deny them.I managed to not be a slave, at great expense to my material reality -not many "employers" who aren't comfortable in their role as the overseers to make me comfortable working for them. I had to be my own agent. Got a lot of skills that way,...but ironically all those skills, knowledge and talent have -to this day been rejected by the systems standards of false values attached to the academic slave training, and the social class divisions that should have been an obvious flag generations ago.Even the things that I do best are rejected based on systemic criteria, and not on the works themselves. It has caused me much depression in my later life. But, such is the price of freedom in a civilization/state populated by slaves -who think they are free. The current awakening trend pleases me much. After speaking, singing, teaching, and attempting to live it for most of my life, it is good to see that somewhere in the collective subconscious, the message got through. Doesn't do much for me personally, I feel like there are many who get credit for work other, more humbler folks have done -and that practice of human vanity drowning out the more stable unpretentious people is just as present in the many 'popular' endowed 'spokesmen' for the movement, as in any other human endeavors.Title, position, power, and authority, must be blended together into a more simpler, but much more profound configuration of JUST BEING. All those separations are the foundations for corruption.Everybody likes to be told that their work is well done, but some people's work -like so many in the establishment- is all about recognition, and for them, often, if not always, they must rely on the labor and talents of others -to the point of theft (one common practice is to make the original creator illegal somehow so the posers can claim credit for the work). I have seen many New Age Carpetbaggers out there putting in their social bid for recognition, the internet is pretty revealing of our various natures, both high and low, but we are headed for a level playing field, where there are no fake leaders, because everyone is capable of making the decisions to lead themselves -not yet, but we're getting there.The current phenomenon of 'media celebrity' carries the same motivations as greed, for it is a mistaken belief that celebrity somehow means 'success' and that is one of the words inscribed on the carrot hanging on that stick the education system, the 'law', and religion like to foist off on us, lying to us as children, then forcing us to capitulate as adults.The idea that one persons work is somehow 'more important' or 'better' than any others is a big barrier to the growth that is necessary to move on to the next level.So, though I appreciate that some of these celebrity -from the guy who gets thousands of hits on facebook or youtube because of clever theft, or material backup and endowment, to the actors and performers of renowned fame, are getting on the bandwagon, I'd feel much better if they'd show a bit more humility, because they are trying to be leaders in a movement that is trying to make us learn how to lead ourselves. Ultimately it won't matter, but the time being wasted on their behalf is nearly as criminal as the criminals we are attempting to divorce ourselves from. They won't get what they think they're after, because after a certain point in the near future, those kinds of options just won't exist any more.If people continue to rely on the old school methods of validating truth and information - thru what we see in the media, entirely, without getting down to 'street'level, without including the un-noticed, the 'unsuccessful' the shy and the silent, then we are stumbling for the same BS setup of hierarchies of power and authority that the awakening is attempting to replace.So, I am neither a slave, nor a rebel. I am a HUMAN BEING!Had Enough, Thanks for being here.LEGALIZE FREEDOM
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on October 11, 2011 at 08:11:51 PT

Had Enough
I have been taking pictures during the Summer and now Fall. I thought you and anyone might want to check them out.http://ourrott.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=12017793http://ourrott.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=12409197
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Comment #39 posted by runruff on October 11, 2011 at 06:25:44 PT

As I recall?
After the revolution the Gestapo [in America 2011 We call the DEA, BATF, CIA and FBI} Different names same function]. These police agencies of the state will need to be tried for high treason among other things.I still say the reason for placing Mickey Leonhart, a nobody, in charge is because everyone in the know, knows that is not the place to be right now for many reasons. Little Micky is so ambitious she is blind to how she is being used.The game is on, don't look away!
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Comment #38 posted by Hope on October 10, 2011 at 22:27:30 PT

Occupy Wall Street
Awesome! I pray they accomplish great things and are not harmed.
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on October 10, 2011 at 22:22:07 PT

Comment 31
Had Enough, I had forgotten about Stacy Westfall. That's great to see. It sounds like your dog wants to make you happy and does a pretty good job of it.That's so great.

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Comment #36 posted by Had Enough on October 10, 2011 at 22:02:31 PT

Ohh...FoM...

I would like for you to see her act...you’d love her...she is a very cool dog...she is a Black German Shepherd...And a big Hamm too...: )

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Comment #35 posted by Had Enough on October 10, 2011 at 21:57:04 PT

re: museman #29
Wall Street ProtestsAre You a Rebel...or a Slave...http://tampabaytimes.fl.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=129eb0593#.TpNsQhWfQBU.facebook************I tried to copy excerpts...but the web page apparently will not allow it...

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Comment #34 posted by FoM on October 10, 2011 at 20:52:06 PT

Had Enough
I would love to see that. Dogs and horses are very special to me. 
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Comment #33 posted by Had Enough on October 10, 2011 at 20:43:09 PT

Very OT...Horses and Dogs
I kinda thought you might have watched that before...but I thought I’d send it anyhow...That girl is really-really good...so is that horse...it reminds me of the pup we have here...lots of the same moves...and all black...yep...I think the pup thinks she is a horse sometimes...you ought to see how she runs...and rears up on her hind legs and does 360’s...runs like that horse...then stops on a dime then takes steps backwards...she trots with gait...she grabs cardboard boxes and parades around the yard with them...cool sight...

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Comment #32 posted by FoM on October 10, 2011 at 19:28:02 PT

Had Enough
It's really good to see you. That's a wonderful video. I have seen it before but it's worth watching again. Thank you.
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Comment #31 posted by Had Enough on October 10, 2011 at 16:40:08 PT

Crackdown...
They should crack down on the Federal Reserve (privately owned central bank),the other banks, and the Wall Street Taliban like they are doing here...and while they are at it...pay a little visit to some of the congress critters too...************Hey FoM...here is a video you will like...Stacy Westfall...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-7v8Ck1crg

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Comment #30 posted by afterburner on October 10, 2011 at 10:18:49 PT

OT - #OccupyWallSt
The Nation / By Naomi Klein.
47 COMMENTS.
Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now.
"The task of our time is to insist that we can afford to build a decent, inclusive society -- while at the same time, respect the real limits to what the earth can take."
October 6, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/152647/occupy_wall_street%3A_the_most_important_thing_in_the_world_now?page=entireThe author of The Shock Doctrine calls for a new social & economic contract. Corporate corruption and throttling must be addressed if we want our country -- indeed our planet -- back.
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Comment #29 posted by museman on October 10, 2011 at 10:04:23 PT

I am not alone
Just one small video clip, that just touches upon the actual movement of the global Human Spirit -that is being denied, persecuted, prosecuted, legislated against, by every governing, political body on the planet.There is a lot to look at these days. The denial is getting pretty damn weak.
World Revolution
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Comment #28 posted by museman on October 10, 2011 at 09:08:13 PT

Dr Ganj
Thank you. That is pragmatic advice. Standing up to these hijackers of our intended constitutional guarantees of liberty is something that rarely happens. Cops, lawyers, judges, and such ilk, are like bullies, who are so sure that everyone is going to back down in the face of their bluster that they DO NOT WANT to have to make an effort outside their easy setup. The fact and truth of it, is that they are dependent on the people giving in to keep their power and bluster.I have witnesses the f__kers practically run from resistance. They like to act like they have intelligence, but give 'em a real intellectual challenge -like what the real intention of the constitution was, what it's fundamental premises are, and -if it isn't in their 'legaleze' handbook of re-defined language- they are clueless.The 'profession' of 'law' is a core group of the corruption that is manifested by bullies in the courtroom, thugs with badges and guns on the streets, and political puppets in government -all controlled and dictated by a small percentage of rich families that control everything but our thoughts -and they are surely trying to figure that one out.There are no liberties left in america that aren't punishable in some degree by these posers, pretenders, and servants of Satanic Spirit.If these people were actually there to serve liberty, and justice, we'd probably be seeing some, but their track record is dismal. If the intention is to protect all americans from adverse violence, racial and class persecution, and keep the peace, then we, as their boss, should fire them for such blatant lack of doing their basic duties that they are paid for. And they should be imprisoned for all the damage they have already done. It's not enough that they are removed from power, they need to have an example made of them, so that future wanna-be-bullies see that the people are done allowing such travesties to occur.There is a lot of denial in america right now about what is happening in our global, collective consciousness (the 'law' people don't believe in it, or anything else for that matter), the cosmic-celestial movements that include solar activity that even NASA has warned might deliver some 'extinction-level events', we have passed 'peak oil' and are literally driving on fumes a far as the available supply goes. People have become so 'comfortably numb' that they think all this is going to 'blow over' so that they can get on with their consumerism 'like before'.30 or so years ago, what is happening now was considered 'taboo' in 'enlightened' conversation, "Don't be so negative!" was the standard, hip response. The few of us that started sowing the knowledge, and possibility of this eventuality suffered greatly in stigma, social ridicule, and most of us did not get much chance in the system we knew way back then was as corrupt as it is finally being seen.That experience of having invaluable information -which if it had been received and acted upon when it first came into our consciousness, we would not be scrambling to get it together at the last moment- made us (those who survived somewhat emotionally intact) a lot stronger than the weak-minded members of the establishment. It made us realize that truth has a way of coming out eventually, regardless of how much fancy distraction is thrown in the way.Well, here it is people. Take a look around.It ain't gonna 'blow over.'LEGALIZE FREEDOM
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Comment #27 posted by Dr Ganj on October 09, 2011 at 10:32:57 PT

Job Security
I haven't posted in a long time, as it quite obvious this whole matter of cannabis regulation is futile.
There is just too much money in keeping marijuana illegal. 
Be it the pharmaceutical industry, the petrochemical industry, the Prison Industrial Complex, just to name a few giant impediments.
The only good news is that for growers, and sellers of marijuana, hash, and clones, job security is strong. 
Just remember though, if you are arrested, take your case to trial, and make the state pay as much as possible for your case. That is the only way out of this mess. 
If every drug case went to trial, our state would be broke.
People get scared when arrested, and rarely go to trial. This is how they keep winning.All it takes is for one juror to be as disappointed in our government as I, and you will be acquitted.
Never go for a plea bargain- EVER! GO TO TRIAL! Good luck and happy harvests,Dr Ganj
 
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Comment #26 posted by Paint with light on October 08, 2011 at 22:07:50 PT

Jobs
Boost employment.Legalize.http://www.alternet.org/drugs/152487/14_kinds_of_jobs_sustained_by_marijuana/Legal like alcohol....or wine...or nylon.....or plastic.P.S. thanks FoM and afterburner.
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Comment #25 posted by RevRayGreen on October 08, 2011 at 17:29:29 PT

Something I say in reply to the children issue..
"What about the OLD PEOPLE?"
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Comment #24 posted by GentleGiant on October 08, 2011 at 11:43:40 PT:

Afterburner
I've always thought the same about that 'what about the children' argument. How 'bout telling the children', the damn TRUTH!
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Comment #23 posted by afterburner on October 08, 2011 at 10:02:32 PT

paul armentano #12
I notice that in this DOJ screed that the main and repeated argument is that their actions are to save the children.Well now, I want to save the children too, from jail, from arrest, from losing their freedom, college funding or housing, from dangerous unregulated and untested products, and from living in a perpetual police state. 
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Comment #22 posted by afterburner on October 08, 2011 at 09:50:57 PT

GentleGiant #21
I totally agree. Get the battlefield out of the stores, homes, fields & streets and into the courts where it belongs.Also, if you are fortunate to live in a state, like mine, that votes for judges, research their political leanings. Then, exercise your free vote to get better judges that will rule by science not superstition nor blind obedience to ignorance.This battle needs the youthful enthusiasm and action that characterizes #OccupyWallStreet."The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.""Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."Thanks, Paint with light, for the relevant quotes.Legalize cannabis for all who want or need it. 
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Comment #21 posted by GentleGiant on October 08, 2011 at 06:09:09 PT:

Abolish the CSA
I know that its true that dispensaries are on the fringe sidelines of medical marijuana laws, however, I don't see why the states aren't supporting what they've legislated. If a state needs a large plantation to support the medical marijuana community, then they should be backing that this is a medical necessity to support these communities. They should be suing the government for overstepping their bounds. They should, also, be declaring that the CSA is unconstitutional. There's no remedy for medical marijuana in the CSA. The government should made to re-write the CSA or abolished it. It would make for a good 'States v. U.S Federalism' argument. 
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on October 08, 2011 at 06:04:23 PT

duzt
I am sorry to read that you could have your world turned upside down over all of this. I am not against anything. I just know until organizations concentrate on getting the federal law changed and succeed this could happen. Meanwhile in many states the laws are so bad people are getting arrested and going to jail over small amounts of marijuana. We need to get the federal law changed then pot shops can operate without fear.Paint with Light, It's good to see you.
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Comment #19 posted by duzt on October 07, 2011 at 23:19:42 PT

Obama and Harborside
I work at Harborside, I'm a manager. I've been there for almost 2 years and I too thought I would never work at a collective. I've spent the past 12 years growing and giving away everything for free, I never sold anything. We have been hammered on all sides lately. We have the city trying to close us, the IRS trying to close us and now this. While we haven't been targeted directly as of yet but the feds definitely have something planned. It frustrates me to see so many not stand up for what is right. I have personally given at least 20 pounds of the best quality medicine away for free from my grows. I have seen Harborside give away an enormous amount. Anybody who thinks collectives like Harborside are making a lot of money are mistaken. I see the numbers and the place scrapes by. What people don't see is that every employee there is getting full medical, 401k and good wages. The next two months will be interesting with all this BS and the Weed Wars show coming out next month. I hope it all turns out well. 
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Comment #18 posted by Paint with light on October 07, 2011 at 21:22:39 PT

Inaugural address 2009
Selective quotes that I believe apply to our current struggle and those that participate in the struggle.http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/inaugural-address/"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.""Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.""We'll restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.""Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.""The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.""Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.""We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken -- you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.""For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.""So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.""America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's(or whatever...pwl) grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."If the laws are to change it is up to every one of us to keep up the noble struggle against the evil forces that would jail us for using a harmless, beneficial herb.We will not win till we have the numbers to win.Truth and science are on our side and eventually they will allow us to change the laws.Every time they step it up.....we have to step it up in return.Legal like alcohol....or wine.
     
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Comment #17 posted by HempWorld on October 07, 2011 at 17:59:30 PT

This song give me solace!
I was so upset I missed putting this link uder my blurb.
This song give me solace!
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Comment #16 posted by HempWorld on October 07, 2011 at 17:56:32 PT

This is the face of fascism!
Pure and simple!I have never even seen this amount of stupidity in any country in my lifetime. Cannabis cures cancer among other things, and our tax dollars are spent not only eradicating but also keeping this on the black market. I guess it is one huge jobs program; 1st we close all the businesses THAT ARE LEGAL UNDER STATE LAW! Then we can hire more cops to pick up corpses and get into gun fight and car chases that continue to put all of us in danger!Wouldn't it be easier if Obama sat down with all the governors and worked it out as civilized men would to do? Why do we have the ongoing war in our backyard militarizing this entire county? This is what it's like when the government is ruled by the mob and not by a real democratically elected government. Go figure, welcome to the real world, I hope someday I can explain to my kids how rotten things really are. This is nothing I am proud of from Obama and this kind of USA. Listen to the science instead of ideology and lobbyists! I never thought this day would come.
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on October 07, 2011 at 16:50:18 PT

I really think these agencies and their heads
probably aren't getting orders from the President for the stuff they're doing. They are just "doing their jobs", persecuting, pursuing, prosecuting, and imprisoning... and pushing it as hard and as far as they can for as long as they can get away with it. They don't want prohibition to end. They really, really, really don't want it to end and they suspect it will, eventually, and they want to do as much damage as they can while they can. I kind of doubt the President, any President, could stop them if he or she wanted to. Actually, I don't "kind of" doubt it... I doubt it completely.We see examples often of government agencies and law enforcement officers doing what they want to do... bust heads... in spite of changes in the laws and the desire of the people. It's not the desire of these agents to allow people freedoms concerning cannabis... so they just don't.They haven't been given orders to step down... and they sure aren't going to. I don't know who could order them to. Laws have to be changed. And that, as we know, is difficult work.And I think it's like Lucas says, too... that the Feds are being called in by local prohibitionists with pull. Big pull. And of course... we... average reformers, don't have any pull at all. We have a little bitty fragile, fragile single vote each. Besides that fragile, brittle little vote, our objections at the injustice and constantly pointing out the error of prohibition is all we have. It's going to have to be enough. 
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Comment #14 posted by museman on October 07, 2011 at 14:16:38 PT

Its a cold retaliation
from fascists. Regardless of who said what or didn't say, this is example of the misplaced faith in any political arena that can be so easily bought and controlled by big money interests.Liberty is our birthright, our 'Inalienable Right' but we keep giving it to a certain, elite faction to control for us.Republicrats and Democans -same ilk. Not representative of the people, ever, at all, regardless of words that come out of their mouths.The problem here is the investment of too many americans' beliefs, in the wrong things -not religious, though religions don't help much, but economic and social.Its happening here too...scroll down....

DEA trucks pot away in Jackson County
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 07, 2011 at 13:37:11 PT

Just a Comment
I feel very sorry for those who read way more into what Obama said and might wind up in a total mess. I wish someone would show me one honest quote from Obama where he said he would let pot shops do as they want even though the Federal Law says it is illegal. He never did. I followed ever word he said and knew what he said. Wishful thinking could put people in jail and hurt them financially and that is sad. I don't know how anyone believed it would be ok.
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Comment #12 posted by paul armentano on October 07, 2011 at 12:18:51 PT

today's DOJ press conference
California's Top Federal Law Enforcement Officials Announce Enforcement
Actions Against State's Widespread and Illegal Marijuana IndustryPublished on Oct 7, 2011 - 11:14:27 AMBy: DOJ Eastern District of CaliforniaSACRAMENTO, Calif.October 7, 2011 -- The four California-based United
States Attorneys today announced coordinated enforcement actions
targeting the illegal operations of the commercial marijuana industry in
California.The statewide enforcement effort is aimed at curtailing the large,
for-profit marijuana industry that has developed since the passage of
California's Proposition 215 in 1996. That industry has swelled to
include numerous drug-trafficking enterprises that operate commercial
grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of
marijuana stores across the state --- even though the federal Controlled
Substances Act makes illegal the sale and distribution of marijuana.While the four United States Attorneys have tailored enforcement actions
to the specific problems in their own districts, the statewide
enforcement efforts fall into three main categories:· Civil forfeiture lawsuits against properties involved in drug
trafficking activity, which includes, in some cases, marijuana sales in
violation of local ordinances;· Letters of warning to the owners and lienholders of properties where
illegal marijuana sales are taking place; and· Criminal cases targeting commercial marijuana activities, including
arrests over the past two weeks in cases filed in federal courts in Los
Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Fresno.The enforcement actions being announced today are the result of the four
United States Attorneys working with federal law enforcement partners
and local officials across California to combat commercial marijuana
activities that are having the most significant impacts in communities."The actions taken today in California by our U.S. Attorneys and their
law enforcement partners are consistent with the Department's commitment
to enforcing existing federal laws, including the Controlled Substances
Act (CSA), in all states," said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. "The
department has maintained that we will not focus our investigative and
prosecutorial resources on individual patients with serious illnesses
like cancer or their immediate caregivers. However, U.S. Attorneys
continue to have the authority to prosecute significant violations of
the CSA, and related federal laws."Benjamin B. Wagner, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District
of California stated: "Large commercial operations cloak their
moneymaking activities in the guise of helping sick people when in fact
they are helping themselves. Our interest is in enforcing federal
criminal law, not prosecuting seriously sick people and those who are
caring for them. We are making these announcements together today so
that the message is absolutely clear that commercial marijuana
operations are illegal under federal law, and that we will enforce
federal law."André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney for the Central District
of California, stated:"The federal enforcement actions are aimed at
commercial marijuana operations, including marijuana grows, marijuana
stores and mobile delivery services - all illegal activities that
generate huge profits. The marijuana industry is controlled by
profiteers who distribute marijuana to generate massive and illegal
profits."Laura E. Duffy, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of
California, commented: "The California marijuana industry is not about
providing medicine to the sick. It's a pervasive for-profit industry
that violates federal law. In addition to damaging our environment, this
industry is creating significant negative consequences, in California
and throughout the nation. As the number one marijuana producing state
in the country, California is exporting not just marijuana but all the
serious repercussions that come with it, including significant public
safety issues and perhaps irreparable harm to our youth."Melinda Haag, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of
California, said: "Marijuana stores operating in proximity to schools,
parks, and other areas where children are present send the wrong message
to those in our society who are the most impressionable. In addition,
the huge profits generated by these stores, and the value of their
inventory, present a danger that the stores will become a magnet for
crime, which jeopardizes the safety of nearby children. Although our
initial efforts in the Northern District focus on only certain marijuana
stores, we will almost certainly be taking action against others. None
are immune from action by the federal government."Dozens of letters have been sent over the past few days to the owners
and lienholders of properties where commercial marijuana stores and
grows are located. In the Southern and Eastern Districts, the owners of
buildings where marijuana stores operate have received letters warning
that they risk losing their property and money derived from renting the
space used for marijuana sales. In the Central District, where more than
1,000 stores are currently operating, prosecutors have sent letters to
property owners in selected cities where officials have requested
federal assistance, and they plan to continue their enforcement actions
in other cities as well. In the Northern District, owners and
lienholders of marijuana stores operating near schools and other
locations where children congregate have been warned that their
operations are subject to enhanced penalties and that real property
involved in the operations is subject to seizure and forfeiture to the
United States.In the Central District and Eastern District, prosecutors this week
filed a total of seven civil forfeiture complaints against properties
where landlords are knowingly allowing marijuana stores to operate. One
complaint filed against a south Orange County strip mall, for example,
alleges that eight of the 11 second-floor suites in the buildings are
occupied by marijuana stores and that one small city has spent nearly
$600,000 in legal fees in its attempt to eradicate the illegal operations.Criminal cases recently unsealed across the state reveal marijuana
operations that produce huge profits, send their money and illegal
narcotics to other states, and market products to young people. In a
case involving a now-closed marijuana store in the San Fernando Valley,
two conspirators allegedly used encrypted smartphones to coordinate
marijuana sales to places as far away as New York and estimated that
they would each receive $194,000 in profits per month. In a San Diego
dispensary case unsealed last week, six defendants were charged in a
77-count indictment that alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy that included
numerous marijuana sales to under-aged persons."The DEA and our partners are committed to attacking large-scale drug
trafficking organizations, including those that attempt to use state or
local law to shield their illicit activities from federal law
enforcement and prosecution," said DEA Administrator Michele M.
Leonhart. "Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug
and that its distribution and sale is a serious crime. It also provides
a significant source of revenue for violent gangs and drug
organizations. The DEA will not look the other way while these criminal
organizations conduct their illicit schemes under the false pretense of
legitimate business."Victor S.O. Song, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation, stated: "IRS
Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our law enforcement
partners and lend its financial expertise to this effort. We will
continue to use the federal asset forfeiture laws to take the profits
from criminal enterprises."Across California, the federal government will continue to investigate
and prosecute those whose actions not only violate federal laws, but
also the state laws regarding the use of marijuana. The problems
associated with the marijuana business have dramatically increased over
the past two years, even in areas where local governments and citizens
actively oppose these businesses.The statewide coordinated enforcement actions were announced this
morning at a press conference in Sacramento.
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Comment #11 posted by RevRayGreen on October 07, 2011 at 10:48:29 PT

will the stores even bother
will the stores even bother to ask/requir­e a 215 card for the next 45 days? what will this do to prices? there is a surplus of marijuana being grown in our country. that is a good thing.
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Comment #10 posted by afterburner on October 07, 2011 at 10:46:19 PT

Obama Administration Plans Enrich Black Market...
Criminals. Through the various Administration departments & agencies, patients are being denied a safe, reasonably priced medicine. Why, oh why, does the federal government want to give more power and money to black market criminals?No legal supply, no legal use. Patients be d#mned. More medical cannabis laws are needed. Due process protection of mmj patients in other states is needed. If Obama thinks these actions will increase his vote count or make his reelection more likely, he is sorely mistaken.I am fed up with all this wimpy kowtowing to uninformed voters and evil-minded government officials. Enough is enough.Occupy all federal agencies responsible.Power to the people!
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Comment #9 posted by Lucas on October 07, 2011 at 10:35:59 PT

the president is just a frontman
No president has ever kept a campaign promise implying cannabis tolerance, freedom, or reformthe president does not have ANY control over the various agencies that actually run day to day operationsthe president did not even replace previous administration drug warriors in places like the DEA, NIDA, FBI, IRS, ATF, etc..the fact we believe that we have representative government is ludicrous.. did you think your vote counted during the last bush election? If so, you probably think voting machines actually counted your vote too..btw, all the areas receiving federal threats seem to be inviting the feds to participate. For example San Diego has been bucking the medical law for years. They lost at the supreme court, so now they just call in the feds..hypocrites, liars and cheats.. if you think of the govt that way, you wont expect them to be reasonable, honest, or responsive to the voters..
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Comment #8 posted by paul armentano on October 07, 2011 at 10:14:45 PT

crackdown
Today's actions are part of an ongoing, and disturbing trend from the administration, in particular the DOJ but other federal agencies as well including the IRS, ATF, NIDA, and DEA. These include:• The IRS has assessed crippling penalties on tax-paying dispensaries by denying standard expense deductions (in California).
• The Department of Treasury has browbeaten banks into closing accounts of medical marijuana collectives (in California and Colorado).
 • The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has warned firearms dealers not to sell guns to medical marijuana users, and stated that patients who otherwise legally possess firearms are in violation of federal law (nationally)
• The DOJ has sent cease-and-desist letters to landlords of dispensaries in San Francisco who are located within 1,000 feet of a school threatening them with 40 years imprisonment
• The DEA has blocked a 9-year old petition to reschedule marijuana for medical use, ignoring extensive scientific evidence of its medical efficacy.
• NIDA has blocked proposed FDA-approved research on medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
• The DOJ sent letters to lawmakers and governors in several states that were debating legislation to allow for state-licensed medical cannabis distribution, threatening prosecution of those involved with said efforts if the legislation went forward (Washington, Arizona, Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware)
• The DEA has reduced the total number of federally qualified investigators licensed to study plant marijuana in humans to 14 nationwideIt is hard, if not impossible, to assume that these actions are anything but a calculated, concerted nationwide effort to crack down upon and discourage any further statewide changes as they pertain to the legalization of medical cannabis.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 07, 2011 at 10:13:46 PT

Federal Law
Thank you TroutMask and Hope. I am not disappointed at all with Obama. All this Pot Shop stuff has sidetracked us from changing the law for all states like we should be doing. I was taught that ignorance of the law is no excuse in all that we do.
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on October 07, 2011 at 09:50:18 PT

FoM and TroutMask are both right.
All we had was hope in his administration. No promises. Bush came closer to a promise, probably, with his mess about saying he believed it should be about state's rights.Johnson and Paul are the only two candidates, that I can think of, that have ever actually come out and said they support the end of cannabis prohibition and would do so if they were elected to the office. And we haven't had a chance to give them a chance. Obama was our best hope of at least things not getting wickedly worse... and that was just hope. It would have been infinitely worse, I think, if McCain had been elected. Infinitely worse. Certainly just as bad.It's sad. I'm so disappointed, but certainly not surprised.
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Comment #5 posted by TroutMask on October 07, 2011 at 09:12:48 PT

FoM is right
"If someone could show me an absolute Obama quote, not what a writer thought he said, I would ask the same question. I never remember reading a quote about pot shops being ok."amen!
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Comment #4 posted by Oleg the tumor on October 07, 2011 at 08:19:30 PT:

A Question to ask each Presidential Candidate. 
"As Baby Boomers and others age, and the Marijuana issue becomes a cost issue rather than an availability issue, particularly to Social Security recipients, what consequenses to Social Security can be expected by continued Federal prohibition of Marijuana?
And if you were elected President, what would your response to the situation be?" Those of us who feel betrayed by Barack Obama should resolve not to be cheated again by the next fool.    
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 07, 2011 at 08:13:07 PT

Just My Thoughts
If someone could show me an absolute Obama quote, not what a writer thought he said, I would ask the same question. I never remember reading a quote about pot shops being ok.
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on October 07, 2011 at 08:06:03 PT

"Why did Obama renig..."
Actually, as it appears, Obama is but a modern day Trojan Horse. He is serving the folks who paid his way.
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Comment #1 posted by Rainbow on October 07, 2011 at 07:16:07 PT

Obama
Well the hope just left the Wite House and we are faced with another president who is bowing to the pressures to continue the hate and harm of cannabis users.I can not vote for the man again, unless he does something very dramatic. The problem is it leaves us with tea partiers who are worse.Why did Obama renig and become a traitor to at least me.
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