cannabisnews.com: Lunch With Janet Reno Lunch With Janet Reno Posted by FoM on December 04, 1999 at 17:22:05 PT By Steve Kubby Source: AMMA Janet Reno, the nation's top cop, spoke in Oakland yesterday about Law Enforcement working with Communities and Corporations. Surrounded by a sea of police, sheriffs, and Fortune 500 corporate executives, one brave little table stood out with a large sign proclaiming, "Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative." At the Oakland CBC table, Jeff Jones, founder and director of the Oakland CBC, was joined by San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, California NORML Director Dale Gieringer, Oakland Councilman Nate Miley, myself and several of other distinguished activists. The luncheon consisted of several wealthy corporations that have renamed their Public Relations Departments into "Social Responsibility Projects." For example, we learned that Honeywell, who used to make cluster and razorblade bombs during the Vietnam War, is now making faster tracking systems for the police to fight the Drug War. Janet Reno was then introduced and received a standing ovation. Ms. Reno spoke with surprising warmth and sincerity. When interrupted by protesters, she stopped the police from ejecting them and arranged to speak privately with the protesters later, then continued her speech. Mayor Jerry Brown gave the closing speech noting that we lead the world in putting our citizens behind bars and even wondered out loud if we shouldn't find a better approach. The Mayor noted that since he was governor, there's been a 500% increase in California inmates. Having pushed the issue as far as he could go, Brown then made an obligatory pitch for more federal money to fight crime in Oakland. When it was over, I walked right up to the stage, crossed over a barrier rope and asked the Attorney General if I could speak with her. I watched as she glanced down to my badge which read: Steve Kubby American Medical Marijuana Association Janet Reno, just stared at my badge and then looked back up at my face, studying me for a split second, then she smiled and said, "Sure." So there I was, face to face with someone I consider to represent everything that is wrong with this country, I wanted to yell into her ear and confront her with all the suffering and misery her policies have caused this me, my family, my fellow patients and my country. Now comes the really creepy part, because as as I looked at her and watched the human being behind the facade, I suddenly came to a unimaginable realization: Janet Reno is no monster, but a victim of mass illusion, too insulated to have any real comprehension of the unintended consequences of her policies. Although she refused to discuss the legal situation with the Oakland CBC or my questions about Peter McWilliams and Todd McCormick, she listened carefully to my concerns about the human rights violations of patients. I gave Ms. Reno a copy of the DeQuattro report, explained what it was and she thanked me. Several other activists and doctors come up and joined me. Reno answered their questions and even posed for a good-natured shot with some medical marijuana activists. My sense is that Reno is a victim of those around her. Throwing her and Clinton out of office would change little, because they are just a tiny part of an institutionalized pattern of lies and deceit. Moreover, I sense that Reno and the Feds have moved beyond their original shock and outrage over the passage of Prop. 215, to a tacit recognition that medical marijuana is not going to go away.Date Received: December 4, 1999The American Medical Marijuana Association Web site:http://www.kubby.com/AMMA.html Subscribe: AMMA-Talk-on list.kubby.com Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 05, 1999 at 14:17:37 PT AMMA Update From Steve Kubby! - 12/05/99 Dear Friends,Finally, Medical Marijuana patients are taking the offensive and hitting back with a grass roots drive to force public officials to obey the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. For too long wešve allowed the opposition to put us on the defensive, always defending what we do to stay alive, instead of forcing Prohibitionists to defend the terrible pain and suffering they are inflicting upon others.This week AMMA received more great press with headlines that convey the new spirit of LEGAL Medical Marijuana activism, showing how public officials are violating the law, the California constitution, and their oaths of office.This is a new and historic development for our movement and we have received a big green light from the media that our new approach has grabbed their attention. Herešs a list of the awesome coverage AMMA has earned in its first month of existence:1 Auburn Journal: Medical Use Marijuana Advocates Launch Offensive2 Sacramento Bee: Petition Filed On Medical Pot Use: Advocates Hit Placer3 OC Register: Editorial: A Step Forward On Medical Marijuana4 LA Times: County Again Urged To 'Uphold Law'5 OC Register: Editorial: Laying Down (on) The Law6 High Times Online: OPED: Uphold The Law7 OC Register: OPED: Uphold The Law8 OC Register: Medicinal-Marijuana Activists Ask for 'Safe Place' See: http://www.mapinc.org/kubby.htm for articlesAs we celebrate our success, let's take a moment to give special recognition to a very special person: ANNA BOYCE R.N. Anna is a treasure to those of us who know her and the fact that Sheriff Carona always greets her with a hug is an expression of how the entire community feels about this extraordinary woman. Anna has always been there for us, no matter how short the notice or inconvenient it might be for her hectic schedule. Anna has been hard at work for medical marijuana longer than just about anyone else.It was Anna who worked with the California legislature to twice pass a medical marijuana bill, only to have Governor Pete Wilson veto it twice. It was Anna who helped write Prop. 215 and it was Anna who was our finest spokesperson for the campaign.Anna has never tried marijuana, nor does she have any interest in doing so, but her passion is to see that patients have a chance, just as her husband had when Anna broke the law to help him stay alive. Whether it's her work as a nurse, volunteering to give seniors flu shots, delivering food to needy families, or helping medical marijuana patients, Anna Boyce has earned the gratitude and heartfelt thanks of all who know and love her.Let freedom grow,Steve The American Medical Marijuana Association Web site: http://www.kubby.com/AMMA.html Subscribe: AMMA-Talk-on list.kubby.comCannabis News Related Articles & Web Sites:California NORML's Web Sitehttp://home.igc.org/~canorml/American Medical Marijuana Association:http://www.kubby.com/AMMA.htmlMedical Use Marijuana Advocates Launch Offensive - 12/01/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3839.shtmlPetition Filed On Medical Pot Use - 11/30/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3831.shtmlA Step Forward On Medical Marijuana - 11/17/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3708.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on December 05, 1999 at 13:55:49 PT Tacit recognition? Or plotting the next turn of the screw?Look, the facts regarding medicinal cannabis have been around, in anecdotal form, for the last 20 years. Reno and Company *know* this. But Reno and Company have done everything in their power to prevent unbiased scientific research from confirming that anecdotal information. They are not laboring under honest ignorance of the facts; they are *deliberately* going after patients, growers, caregivers, cannabis clubs, et al because of their deeply ingrained *fear*. Fear of what happens when the inevitable floodgate of litigation opens immediately after the release of an scientific, unbiased report. *Two generations* of claimants, tens of thousands of lawsuits. That's what they are afraid of.And that's why they continue to make donkey noises about the purported threat cannabis poses to society, when they bloody well know the truth. That's why are going after the sick and those who care for them. Because they think that by intimidation, incarceration, and theft-via-forfeiture, they can keep the lid on a pressure cooker that's about to explode in their faces.But the needle on the gauge is approaching the red zone; more and more States are moving towards medicinal cannabis. If ten more States do so, the rest of the Union will follow suit. And the fun will well-and-truly begin. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 04, 1999 at 17:25:16 PT I forgot to post the web site in the article! So here it is!Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/index.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: